What is a Good Credit Score?

Robert Wilkinson — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:20:03 +0000

In general, anything above 700 is considered a good credit score, but it’s not that simple. There are many different credit scoring systems with different scales — not to mention individual lenders have their own criteria. In short, a good credit score depends on the scoring system used and your particular lender. However, you can get a good idea of where you stand by getting your credit score and report.

If you don’t know your credit score yet, lets get them now before we continue.

Score	Get from	Cost
FICO	MyFICO.com	$15.95
TransUnion	Credit Karma	Free
Experian	Quizzle	Free
All 3	CreditReport.com	Free with credit monitoring trial*

* After accessing your credit score, you have to cancel the trial to avoid being charged for the service.

Credit Score Basics

In general, credit score is a number generated by a mathematical formula. This formula analyzes information in your credit report to derive your credit score — a number ranging from 300 to 850. Your credit score is a reflection of your credibility (credit worthiness).

Overall, your credit score does a very good job of predicting how likely you are to repay your debt. Therefore, lenders extensively use credit scores to determine whether or not to loan you the money and at what price (i.e., interest rate). Typically, people with higher credit scores get lower interest rates compared to the rates for people with lower credit score.

To give you an idea on how credit score affects interest rate, here’s an example of 30-year mortgage interest rate for a $300,000 loan from myFICO web site:

FICO® score	APR	Monthly payment
760-850	4.994%	$1,609
700-759	5.216%	$1,650
Related Searches: a general answer is anything above 720 However it is not that simple# Tips for Paying Off Student Loans Robert Wilkinson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:20:23 +0000 Right now, the student loan industry is going through one of its worst periods in decades. New Federal regulations have forced many banks to stop offering student loans, and students are being forced to either find a direct loan or start paying back what they owe. Enrollment figures are being affected dramatically and right now, many students simply cannot afford to go to school. This problem is extending to those that are already trying to pay on their student loans. It has become harder than ever to consolidate old student loans and the interest rates are not helping matters either. It is important to pay off your student loans as quickly as possible, especially if you want to save money over the long term. Here are some tips to help you accomplish this. 1. Try asking your family for help. If your family is in the position to help you financially, this should be your first stop. No one really likes borrowing money from their parents, but if you can pay off all of your loans, it is worth it. You won’t have to worry about crazy interest rates and you’ll have a chance to make bigger payments on the loan. However, you’ll need to make sure that you can set up a payment plan and stick to it to avoid causing any family disputes. 2. Get a second job. This is a tough one, especially if you are already working full time. However, it can mean the difference between paying on student loans for the next decade, or taking just a year to pay them off. For example, if you owe $98,000 on your student loans, and you get a part time job that pays an extra $1000 a week, you could pay off that loan in less than two years. There are many high paying second jobs, such as bartending, where you can easily work off that student loan in no time at all. 3. Leverage your debt. If you don’t have the time to get a second job, you may want to consider a technique known as debt leveraging. This involves taking out a loan and making an investment. Whether it is in an interest bearing account, new business idea or stock is up to you. Just make sure that you can count on the returns. This will create a secondary stream of income that can be used to pay down your student loans in a lot less time. 4. Negotiate. If all else fails, try negotiating with the loan company to get a lower interest rate. If you have been paying on your loan faithfully they will be much more likely to help you out. It never hurts to ask or to apply for a consolidation loan. The worse they can say is no, and you’ll still have a lot of different options out there. The important thing is that you don’t fall behind on your debts. It may take some hard work, but you’ll appreciate it once you’re free of the yoke of your student loans. Photo Credits: 1 Originally posted 2008-08-17 05:03:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Related Posts What You Need to Know Before Going Into Debt Let’s face it, if you want to get ahead in today’s world, you’re going to need to go into debt, at least a little. The key is managing your debt properly and ... Related Searches: Paying off your student loans tips keys Savings Accounts vs. CDs: Where to Keep Your Money in 2010? Robert Wilkinson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:20:07 +0000 If you’re a savvy investor, you most certainly have a fair bit of cash tucked away for general spending and emergencies. The stock market is a long term investment and if 2009 taught us anything, it was to not have money you need to spend in the stock market. So where do you put the money you don’t want in the stock market? There’s 3 main options to place your cash and get it FDIC insured for up to $250,000. You can put your money in a checking account where you have fast and easy access to funds. You can put your money in a savings account where you can take money out and put money in while still earning interest on your funds, or You can put your money in a certificate of deposit, which typically has higher yields than savings but your money is locked into the account for the agreed upon term. So where should you put your money? Well all 3 of course. For money that you plan on spending you should keep in a checking account. It’s the easiest account to get money into and out of so it makes sense to keep spending money in it. You shouldn’t keep more than you need to however because you don’t get a return on your investment in a checking account. This is where savings accounts and certificates of deposit jump into the picture. Your strategy becomes more complicated now because of the fact that you must lock in a rate when opening a CD. So what is the best cash strategy for 2010? If you pay attention to CD rates you know that they’re at the lowest levels since the 80s right now. So it doesn’t make much sense to lock in to a long term CD right now because they’re bound to increase when the unemployment rate drops and the Fed decides to raise interest rates. So there’s 2 main strategies you should consider. The first is to convert any maturing CDs you have into savings accounts. The yields on savings accounts are not that much lower than what banks are offering on CDs so there isn’t that much incentive to lock in your money. You could keep your extra cash in savings accounts which will leave you ready to jump on a CD when rates start climbing back up. Just make sure you stay under the ... The Dangers of Long Term and Interest Only Loans Robert Wilkinson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:20:22 +0000 There are two new trends in the banking world that may actually be very dangerous for consumers. Long term personal loans and interest only loans are gaining in popularity, especially in the wake of the housing crisis. While these may seem to be a great option at the time, there are many risks from these loans that should be avoided if at all possible. If you’re considering refinancing your home to an interest only loan, or if you are looking at getting a personal or car loan, it is very important to understand exactly what you are getting into before you agree to any loan. An interest only home loan means that each month, you only pay the interest that you owe. At face value, this can save a lot of money and it may help you keep your home if you are refinancing. Even though interest rates are going up, when you’re not paying on the principle, your overall monthly payment will be lower. However, the part about not paying on the principle is the kicker. At the end of your interest only loan you will not own your home. Instead, you will have to pay the principle, in full, in order to get the deed. Now, if you’re planning on selling your home after the loan is paid off, this may not be as dangerous. However, with falling property values and a down market, this can be disastrous. In addition, by only paying interest, you will end up spending a lot more at the end for your home. In most cases, homeowners with this type of loan find that they spend $25k to $50k more for their actual homes. Another issue with interest only loans is that you will not have the benefit of gaining equity in your home, even though you are making payments every month. If you end up with an emergency on your hands and need to get money quickly, you will not be able to draw on the equity in your home. This is a big problem that many people do not consider. Would you rather have lower monthly payments, or the ability to earn equity in your home with every payment that you make? Next up, long term loans are becoming very popular as interest rates go up. Most people prefer to keep their payments as low as possible, but right now, that is pretty tough. The solution has been to roll out new long term loans, particularly for cars. As an example, you may be paying only $300 a month for your car, but you will have to keep making those payments for the next seven to eight years. Compare this to the usual time period of three to five years. That is a lot of extra interest and many people may not even realize just how much extra they are paying. At the end of the loan term, you will have spent thousands more than the car is worth and by then, the vehicle has depreciated to the point where you will never get that money back. Long term loans do make it easier to make payments, but at the end of the day, you’re worse for the wear. Photo Credits: 1 Originally posted 2008-08-19 05:21:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Related Posts 9 Steps for Establishing Credit Credit is the catch all term for the act of lending money. It can take the form of a credit card, in which the lender buys the things you want and you pay them back. Loans are where you have the money given to you with the promise to pay...... 2010 Savings Account & CD Rate Updates Robert Wilkinson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:20:06 +0000 Interest rates are still pretty low as we enter 2010, but I remind people that high nominal rates aren’t always better. Would you rather earn 3% with no inflation or 7% with 5% inflation? In any case, most of us have a chunk of cash and we should still try to earn the most no matter what the rate environment is like right now. High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts These are checking accounts that are still fully insured and pay a very high interest rate, as long as you jump through certain hoops each month. This also means that if you make a mistake you’ll forfeit virtually all your interest for that month, so it can be tricky. But for the very diligent, their rates are still averaging around 3-4% APY up to a certain balance limit. Here are a couple of the highest current account available nationwide: Royal Bank of Missouri has their Majestic Checking paying 4.30% APY on up to $25k, which requires 10 check card purchases each month, a direct deposit or ACH transaction per month, and online statements only. Sierra Reward Checking at 4.09% APY on up to $25k, which requires 12 check card purchases each month, a direct deposit/auto-withdrawal, one BillPay per month, and online statements only. Online Savings Accounts These accounts pay a ... Is Consolidation Always the Answer? Robert Wilkinson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:20:13 +0000 1 of the most essential thinyorive tdend regng ncial financial debt idea ofrel="nofollow" href="http://www.richcreditdebtloan.com/four-suggestions-to-obtaining-bad-financial debt-under-manage/">>>>>financial debt consolidation<<<< is this: You totally can't borrow your way out of monetary financial debt, in purchase to resolve allf ur isesMuchorthan 80 %f l people that managed to offer their present accounts down to a stability did so using a >>>>financial debt consolidation mortgage<<<<, nonetheless these people ended up owing even much more cash to the 2nd home loan company merely because curiosity costs ended up hurting eeworse than theine Most customers are so thrilled about the prospect of paring down or totally acquiring to invest off their debts that they gave very small consideration if any to what outcomes would exist for the new home loan, the monetary financial debt consolidation home loan. Numerous occasions these people end up owing as a fantastic offer as 50% much more to the new home loan company than they owed for their genuine monetary financial debt, which signifies that this really is not aiding the problem in any way. Regrettably, this really is not even the worst of it. Many people are taking monetary financial debt consolidation loans out as a signifies of acquiring to invest off their credit score cards. They make the error of retaining these credit score cards open with out carrying out some thing to alter their investing habits. Simply merely because they do not do some thing to repair their investing habits, they end up re-maxing these credit score cards out so that they are now tackling credit score card monetary financial debt that is mounting rapidly, and the greater curiosity monetary financial debt consolidation home loan that they utilized to at preliminary invest off the credit score cards in the preliminary location. By the time some element like this happens, the consumer has simply arrive complete circle merely because they are now acquiring to invest the monetary financial debt consolidation home loan payments and their credit score card payments. It really can't get even worse than this, correct? You have effectively doubled or tripled your monetary financial debt in the procedure of trying to get out of monetary financial debt, which is totally worthless. The people who do find fantastic outcomes with monetary financial debt consolidation loans are these who have a steady technique in location prior to they really get the home loan out. Not only this, but they are also the people in a position of subsequent the technique to the letter, by no signifies straying no make any difference what it expenditures. If you want to be effective with monetary financial debt consolidation, then you need to understand what it signifies to get out and invest off a monetary financial debt consolidation home loan. If you do not think that you have what it demands to invest off a home loan designated for acquiring to invest off your other debts, merely because most of these loans have greater costs and greater curiosity costs, then by all signifies find an additional method of paring down your monetary financial debt. Acquiring to invest off monetary financial debt is not simple, no make any difference which way you do it. Monetary financial debt consolidation loans might be a solution for some, but they are not the for everybody merely because they create much more monetary financial debt pretty than obtaining you out of monetary financial debt totally. If you have the will power and the earnings to trade outdated monetary financial debt for new monetary financial debt, and can invest the new monetary financial debt off prior to the curiosity costs get you, then monetary financial debt consolidation might be the . Otherwise, select a numerous solution to get you out of monetary financial debt. Image Credit score score score: >>>>1<<<< Initially posted 2008-twelve-eleven 05:07:twenty. Republished by >><<<<

FICO® score

APR

Monthly payment

760-850

4.994%

$1,609

700-759

5.216%

$1,650

Tips for Paying Off Student Loans

Robert Wilkinson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:20:23 +0000

Right now, the student loan industry is going through one of its worst periods in decades. New Federal regulations have forced many banks to stop offering student loans, and students are being forced to either find a direct loan or start paying back what they owe. Enrollment figures are being affected dramatically and right now, many students simply cannot afford to go to school.

This problem is extending to those that are already trying to pay on their student loans. It has become harder than ever to consolidate old student loans and the interest rates are not helping matters either. It is important to pay off your student loans as quickly as possible, especially if you want to save money over the long term. Here are some tips to help you accomplish this.

1. Try asking your family for help.

If your family is in the position to help you financially, this should be your first stop. No one really likes borrowing money from their parents, but if you can pay off all of your loans, it is worth it. You won’t have to worry about crazy interest rates and you’ll have a chance to make bigger payments on the loan. However, you’ll need to make sure that you can set up a payment plan and stick to it to avoid causing any family disputes.

2. Get a second job.

This is a tough one, especially if you are already working full time. However, it can mean the difference between paying on student loans for the next decade, or taking just a year to pay them off. For example, if you owe $98,000 on your student loans, and you get a part time job that pays an extra $1000 a week, you could pay off that loan in less than two years. There are many high paying second jobs, such as bartending, where you can easily work off that student loan in no time at all.

3. Leverage your debt.

If you don’t have the time to get a second job, you may want to consider a technique known as debt leveraging. This involves taking out a loan and making an investment. Whether it is in an interest bearing account, new business idea or stock is up to you. Just make sure that you can count on the returns. This will create a secondary stream of income that can be used to pay down your student loans in a lot less time.

4. Negotiate.

If all else fails, try negotiating with the loan company to get a lower interest rate. If you have been paying on your loan faithfully they will be much more likely to help you out. It never hurts to ask or to apply for a consolidation loan. The worse they can say is no, and you’ll still have a lot of different options out there. The important thing is that you don’t fall behind on your debts. It may take some hard work, but you’ll appreciate it once you’re free of the yoke of your student loans.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-08-17 05:03:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

What You Need to Know Before Going Into Debt Let’s face it, if you want to get ahead in today’s world, you’re going to need to go into debt, at least a little. The key is managing your debt properly and ...

Related Searches:
- Paying off your student loans tips keys

Savings Accounts vs. CDs: Where to Keep Your Money in 2010?

Robert Wilkinson — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:20:07 +0000

If you’re a savvy investor, you most certainly have a fair bit of cash tucked away for general spending and emergencies. The stock market is a long term investment and if 2009 taught us anything, it was to not have money you need to spend in the stock market. So where do you put the money you don’t want in the stock market?

There’s 3 main options to place your cash and get it FDIC insured for up to $250,000.

You can put your money in a checking account where you have fast and easy access to funds.
You can put your money in a savings account where you can take money out and put money in while still earning interest on your funds, or
You can put your money in a certificate of deposit, which typically has higher yields than savings but your money is locked into the account for the agreed upon term.

So where should you put your money? Well all 3 of course.

For money that you plan on spending you should keep in a checking account. It’s the easiest account to get money into and out of so it makes sense to keep spending money in it. You shouldn’t keep more than you need to however because you don’t get a return on your investment in a checking account.

This is where savings accounts and certificates of deposit jump into the picture. Your strategy becomes more complicated now because of the fact that you must lock in a rate when opening a CD.

So what is the best cash strategy for 2010?

If you pay attention to CD rates you know that they’re at the lowest levels since the 80s right now. So it doesn’t make much sense to lock in to a long term CD right now because they’re bound to increase when the unemployment rate drops and the Fed decides to raise interest rates. So there’s 2 main strategies you should consider. The first is to convert any maturing CDs you have into savings accounts.

The yields on savings accounts are not that much lower than what banks are offering on CDs so there isn’t that much incentive to lock in your money. You could keep your extra cash in savings accounts which will leave you ready to jump on a CD when rates start climbing back up. Just make sure you stay under the ...

The Dangers of Long Term and Interest Only Loans

Robert Wilkinson — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:20:22 +0000

There are two new trends in the banking world that may actually be very dangerous for consumers. Long term personal loans and interest only loans are gaining in popularity, especially in the wake of the housing crisis. While these may seem to be a great option at the time, there are many risks from these loans that should be avoided if at all possible. If you’re considering refinancing your home to an interest only loan, or if you are looking at getting a personal or car loan, it is very important to understand exactly what you are getting into before you agree to any loan.

An interest only home loan means that each month, you only pay the interest that you owe. At face value, this can save a lot of money and it may help you keep your home if you are refinancing. Even though interest rates are going up, when you’re not paying on the principle, your overall monthly payment will be lower. However, the part about not paying on the principle is the kicker.

At the end of your interest only loan you will not own your home. Instead, you will have to pay the principle, in full, in order to get the deed. Now, if you’re planning on selling your home after the loan is paid off, this may not be as dangerous. However, with falling property values and a down market, this can be disastrous. In addition, by only paying interest, you will end up spending a lot more at the end for your home. In most cases, homeowners with this type of loan find that they spend $25k to $50k more for their actual homes.

Another issue with interest only loans is that you will not have the benefit of gaining equity in your home, even though you are making payments every month. If you end up with an emergency on your hands and need to get money quickly, you will not be able to draw on the equity in your home. This is a big problem that many people do not consider. Would you rather have lower monthly payments, or the ability to earn equity in your home with every payment that you make?

Next up, long term loans are becoming very popular as interest rates go up. Most people prefer to keep their payments as low as possible, but right now, that is pretty tough. The solution has been to roll out new long term loans, particularly for cars. As an example, you may be paying only $300 a month for your car, but you will have to keep making those payments for the next seven to eight years. Compare this to the usual time period of three to five years.

That is a lot of extra interest and many people may not even realize just how much extra they are paying. At the end of the loan term, you will have spent thousands more than the car is worth and by then, the vehicle has depreciated to the point where you will never get that money back. Long term loans do make it easier to make payments, but at the end of the day, you’re worse for the wear.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-08-19 05:21:57. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

9 Steps for Establishing Credit Credit is the catch all term for the act of lending money. It can take the form of a credit card, in which the lender buys the things you want and you pay them back. Loans are where you have the money given to you with the promise to pay......

2010 Savings Account & CD Rate Updates

Robert Wilkinson — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:20:06 +0000

Interest rates are still pretty low as we enter 2010, but I remind people that high nominal rates aren’t always better. Would you rather earn 3% with no inflation or 7% with 5% inflation? In any case, most of us have a chunk of cash and we should still try to earn the most no matter what the rate environment is like right now.

High-Yield Reward Checking Accounts
These are checking accounts that are still fully insured and pay a very high interest rate, as long as you jump through certain hoops each month. This also means that if you make a mistake you’ll forfeit virtually all your interest for that month, so it can be tricky. But for the very diligent, their rates are still averaging around 3-4% APY up to a certain balance limit. Here are a couple of the highest current account available nationwide:

Royal Bank of Missouri has their Majestic Checking paying 4.30% APY on up to $25k, which requires 10 check card purchases each month, a direct deposit or ACH transaction per month, and online statements only.
Sierra Reward Checking at 4.09% APY on up to $25k, which requires 12 check card purchases each month, a direct deposit/auto-withdrawal, one BillPay per month, and online statements only.

Online Savings Accounts
These accounts pay a ...

Is Consolidation Always the Answer?

Robert Wilkinson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:20:13 +0000

1 of the most essential thinyorive tdend regng ncial financial debt idea ofrel="nofollow" href="http://www.richcreditdebtloan.com/four-suggestions-to-obtaining-bad-financial debt-under-manage/">>>>>financial debt consolidation<<<< is this: You totally can't borrow your way out of monetary financial debt, in purchase to resolve allf ur isesMuchorthan 80 %f l people that managed to offer their present accounts down to a stability did so using a >>>>financial debt consolidation mortgage<<<<, nonetheless these people ended up owing even much more cash to the 2nd home loan company merely because curiosity costs ended up hurting eeworse than theine

Most customers are so thrilled about the prospect of paring down or totally acquiring to invest off their debts that they gave very small consideration if any to what outcomes would exist for the new home loan, the monetary financial debt consolidation home loan. Numerous occasions these people end up owing as a fantastic offer as 50% much more to the new home loan company than they owed for their genuine monetary financial debt, which signifies that this really is not aiding the problem in any way.

Regrettably, this really is not even the worst of it. Many people are taking monetary financial debt consolidation loans out as a signifies of acquiring to invest off their credit score cards. They make the error of retaining these credit score cards open with out carrying out some thing to alter their investing habits. Simply merely because they do not do some thing to repair their investing habits, they end up re-maxing these credit score cards out so that they are now tackling credit score card monetary financial debt that is mounting rapidly, and the greater curiosity monetary financial debt consolidation home loan that they utilized to at preliminary invest off the credit score cards in the preliminary location.

By the time some element like this happens, the consumer has simply arrive complete circle merely because they are now acquiring to invest the monetary financial debt consolidation home loan payments and their credit score card payments. It really can't get even worse than this, correct? You have effectively doubled or tripled your monetary financial debt in the procedure of trying to get out of monetary financial debt, which is totally worthless.

The people who do find fantastic outcomes with monetary financial debt consolidation loans are these who have a steady technique in location prior to they really get the home loan out. Not only this, but they are also the people in a position of subsequent the technique to the letter, by no signifies straying no make any difference what it expenditures. If you want to be effective with monetary financial debt consolidation, then you need to understand what it signifies to get out and invest off a monetary financial debt consolidation home loan. If you do not think that you have what it demands to invest off a home loan designated for acquiring to invest off your other debts, merely because most of these loans have greater costs and greater curiosity costs, then by all signifies find an additional method of paring down your monetary financial debt.

Acquiring to invest off monetary financial debt is not simple, no make any difference which way you do it. Monetary financial debt consolidation loans might be a solution for some, but they are not the for everybody merely because they create much more monetary financial debt pretty than obtaining you out of monetary financial debt totally. If you have the will power and the earnings to trade outdated monetary financial debt for new monetary financial debt, and can invest the new monetary financial debt off prior to the curiosity costs get you, then monetary financial debt consolidation might be the . Otherwise, select a numerous solution to get you out of monetary financial debt.

Image Credit score score score: >>>>1<<<<

Initially posted 2008-twelve-eleven 05:07:twenty. Republished by >><<<<

Walk With Money » Interest Rates