A Short Guide To Improve Your Personal Finances
Credit Repair
Don't bother with store credit cards. Store cards have a bad cost/benefit calculation. If you pay on time, it won't help your credit all that much, but if a store account goes to collections, it will impact your credit history just as much as any other default. Get a major credit card for credit repair instead.
If you are looking to repair your credit going through a credit repair agency might not be a bad idea. Often times they offer the opportunity to buy something like a flat screen TV in exchange for weekly payments. In this way your credit is slowly restored and you end up with something nice.
If a credit repair company guarantees that they can improve your credit history, be very wary. Many companies put out marketing materials that make broad claims about what they can do for you. There is no fix that will work for every situation, and these companies are not being honest with you. Guaranteeing success is fraudulent.
Some fluctuations in credit scores are normal. This does not mean that you have done anything wrong. Keep adding good information to your credit report and you will see your score go up over time.
Stay away from credit repair offers sent to you via email. They promise the world, but they could easily just be a front for identify theft. You would be sending them all of the information they would need to steal your identity. Only work with credit repair agencies, in person, to be on the safe side.
Hiring a credit repair company can help you with some of the legwork involved in cleaning up your credit report, but beware of shady companies that make false or misleading claims. These companies may allege that you can start fresh with a clean credit report by using an Employee Identification number (EIN) rather than your Social Security number. However, they neglect to tell you that requesting an EIN from the IRS for this reason is a federal crime.
If you decide to hire a credit repair firm to help with fixing your credit, make sure you understand what they charge. Many firms charge you by the number of disputes and deletions attempted with no guarantee of success. Try to find a credit repair firm that charges fair and has no hidden fees.
Use these tips as ways to keep your finances in order, and slowly you'll start to find your financial situation improve. Once you have your finances under control, you'll find that your life starts to improve as well. Make a financial plan, stick to it, and watch how your life begins to unfold in a fresh, new way.