By Barb Miller Most people I work with are very concerned about improving their credit scores post-bankruptcy. This is a good thing since nearly all important transactions like finding a job, buying insurance, financing a car or home, or even renting an apartment may well depend on your credit score. The good news is you [...]

By Melinda Opperman Often when people turn to credit counseling it’s because they have experienced a financial crisis, sometimes caused by an unexpected reduction in income, or a medical emergency. Credit counseling educates consumers about creating a spending plan, and saving money, while reducing one’s dependence on credit. While the decision to borrow money whether [...]

By John Ulzheimer     If you follow personal finance related blogs or websites you’ve undoubtedly seen the phrase “revolving utilization.” And, if you’re a credit junkie, like me, you’ve written about it countless times. Long story short, the revolving utilization percentage is one of the most important credit score measurements applied to your credit reports, and [...]

By Gail Cunningham The accuracy of credit reports has been in the news lately, causing consumers to wonder how error-free their own report is. Since credit reports are the backbone of the all-important credit score, it is indeed important to fully understand what a credit report is, what consumer protections are in place, and what actions [...]

By Erica Sandberg Dear Erica, My husband and I are divorcing. We have two cards together, and I have one of my own — it’s a Nordstrom card that I had even before we were married. None of our cards has a balance. Should we close the cards we have together and get new ones? [...]

By Melinda Opperman Credit counseling services usually help those who have already established credit and gotten in too deep with debt. Our primary function however is to provide education and promote financial literacy, and that includes teaching new consumers how to build credit from the start. Step one is to apply for credit. If you’ve never [...]

By Melinda Opperman If your credit card debt is keeping you from reaching your personal financial goals, and you’re ready to concentrate on paying off your credit cards, here are a few tips to help you get started. 1. Make a budget. If you haven’t already made a budget this is a great first step [...]

By John Ulzheimer Depending on whom you believe you can have as few as one credit score, and as many as hundreds of credit scores. So who is telling the truth? The truth is they’re both right. Follow me… The apex predator in credit scoring is still your FICO credit score. That’s not in dispute. It’s by far the most [...]

By Drew Kessler It’s the gold rule to pay off your credit card balances in full. If you can’t pay the full balance you should at least resolve to pay more than the minimum while you work off the debt. Paying twice the minimum is a good initial goal to start with.  By increasing your payments you will [...]

By Lauralynn Schueckler This is one question that has been asked time and time again. When hardships and struggles get in the way, a late payment is bound to happen. So how many points will your credit score drop if you happen to miss one payment? Well, that number depends on a few different factors. [...]