By Daniel Bortz From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Looking to purchase a home in this market? Take these steps to qualify for the best mortgage rates. Increase your down payment To qualify for the lowest rates on a conventional loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac—the nation’s two largest mortgage buyers—you’ll need a 20 percent…
How to Shop for a Low Mortgage Rate
What to Do If Your Credit Card Account Is Closed
By Rivan V. Stinson From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Question: My credit card company closed my account for “inactivity.” Is there a way to get my card reinstated? Answer: Credit card issuers can close your account due to what’s known as “inactivity,” meaning you haven’t used the card in a certain amount of time—let’s say a…
How Is Your Credit Score Calculated and Why Is It Important?
You know credit scores exist. You might even know what yours is. But do you know how it’s calculated and why it’s important? Your credit score affects whether you can get a credit card, rent an apartment, buy a house, start a business, or even get a cell phone contract. A low credit score can…
Ask Me Anything: Secured Cards, Nail Polish Stains and More
Every day, it seems, my virtual mailbag fills up with mail from my dear readers. Many messages include questions about everything you can imagine and some that are beyond imagination! Today, I’ve chosen to answer a small sampling of them. Dear Mary: I ruined my credit starting about 10 years ago, in the usual foolish…
Generational Poverty: How to Break the Cycle of Poverty
Are you familiar with escape rooms? The only way you can escape is to solve a complicated problem. But what happens if you fail to escape the room on time? Having lost, you are then “imprisoned” in the room. OK, not literally. However, you will not be able to leave the room until a staff…
Is a Line of Credit Right for Your Business Recession Plan?
More than 90 percent of small-business owners are worried about experiencing an economic recession over the next 12 months, according to a June 2022 Goldman Sachs survey. Because lenders tend to tighten their lending standards during recessions, small-business owners may be looking for ways to secure funds before access to credit is possibly reduced. One…
How Can I Build Credit?
Financial success is largely determined by your credit score. After all, having good or excellent credit will lower your interest rates, access perks like rewards, and gives you more negotiating power. And, it can also give you more opportunities to build your credit. What if you have poor credit? Well, for the 16 percent of Americans with a…
Kids and Money: Yours, Mine, and Ours
By Steve Rosen From Tribune Content Agency The time for newly married couples to discover each other’s credit score should not happen when applying for a car loan or filling out mortgage paperwork while house hunting for the first time. Yet, all too often those money talks either keep getting kicked down the road or…
Tips for Boosting Your Credit Score
By Pat Curry From Bankrate.com If you’re thinking about buying a house or a car, your credit score is a very important number. The interest rate you’ll pay for the money you borrow will be determined, in large part, by this three-digit number that’s generated from the information in your credit report. Most lenders have carved-in-stone rules…
5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Score and Help Your Business
By Mark Abell Small business owners can significantly improve their chances of getting a loan approved by first taking steps to boost their personal credit score. The biggest factors that any bank looks at when deciding whether to approve a loan are the 5 Cs of credit: capital, collateral, conditions, cash flow, and creditworthiness. For young…
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