The Debt

In America, it is not only accepted that the majority of us are knee-deep in credit card debt, it is normal. Two generations ago it was just flat out wrong - a sin, to have any kind of debt at all. Today it is quite a different story and credit card debt is a mega, multi-billion dollar a year industry. The major credit card companies are eating it up like hotcakes and our credit reports are taking a lot of the heat. More than 75% of all college students are in credit card debt within their first year of school. From Sears to Visa to Diner’s Club, people are adding to the debt stock pile that the distributors thrive off of. There are tens of thousands of websites that support and offer more to this enormous problem and it has got to stop! We have to draw the line individually, because there are no boundaries on the excessive spending in America.

What’s Really Happening

It’s even stated in the Bible - “The borrower is slave to the lender.” In any case, where you have taken out credit on something; be it a car, mortgage, student loan, credit card, etc…, you are borrowing money. Not only that, but you are borrowing more money than you need. The average APR (annual percentage rate) on a credit card is 19%! In many cases, when a credit card is “maxed out” you will pay only interest with the minimum payment. As if this wasn’t enough stress, the creditors harass you like their life depends on it and you begin to feel uneasy about even answering the phone.

Is Debt Consolidation the Answer?

Many consumers are drawn in by debt consolidation loans. It feels like instant relief and the monthly payments go down. Suddenly you feel like life is getting better by the minute. Oh and what’s this, there is left over money from the loan - PERFECT! You needed this for that yard project or supplies or something that you’ve been waiting to have the extra money for. Why not reward yourself, you have taken a big step and your financial future is improving. Or is it? The fact is that you have fallen into another trap. You are now borrowing more money with an interest rate and you most likely got more than you needed. Statistics show that even though the math often works for a consolidation loan, the consumer ends up with his ears nailed to the wall.

What to do Now

STOP BORROWING MONEY! This would be a good first step. Stop right now. Do not borrow a dime. If you don’t have it - don’t spend it. You can build up an emergency savings account to pick up any negative events that may occur. This emergency savings account is of course another article but you get the basic idea right? Oh, you still feel you need plastic in your wallet? Get a debit credit card. At least with a debit card you can only spend what is in your bank account. You can also use most credit card debit cards just like a credit card for purchases. Your credit report will begin to reflect this positive behavior because there will be no more credit card bills piling up. Here is a saying to ponder before you think of making another large purchase - “If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. If you can afford it, sleep on it.”

To read more about how you can get your online credit report free with no obligations and get a prepaid Mastercard debit card with no immediate debt, go to http://www.cleancreditonline.com

Tom Justice is the webmaster for Clean Credit Online and does all the designing, marketing, SEO and maintenance for the site. He has a passion for personal finance and how the economy and consumers are affected by money. To see how you can use Clean Credit Online to help you with your personal finances please visit www.cleancreditonline.com
“Plastic Debt” - © (2005) Reprinting is allowed assuming all content is left the same.

Credit can be a wonderful thing, but it can also be a dangerous pitfall, with disastrous results, when it gets out of control, even it happened through no fault of your own. If you find yourself overextended, here are some ideas for improving your credit.

The first step is to acknowledge your dilemma. Denial is a natural reaction, but you absolutely must face up to the fact that you’re in trouble, and begin to work your way out of it. Don’t ignore your bills. That won’t accomplish anything and will only compound your poor credit problem in the long run.

The next step is to contact all of your creditors and tell them your situation, the sooner, the better. Ask them to set up new payment schedules for the debts you owe. Make sure that the schedule you agree on is one you can actually manage. Contacting them and being honest with them, telling them that you really want to fulfill your obligations, but need to set up a different repayment plan also shows them that you’re sincere about paying them back.

In most cases, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how willing your creditors will be to work with you on setting up a new payment plan that you can live with. After all, they’d rather receive their money a little more slowly than never receive it at all.

Immediately stop charging anything else. That should be obvious, but being able to buy things on credit can actually become a habit that can be very difficult to break. However, if you have poor credit, the one thing you DON’T need is more debt! Take your credit cards out of your wallet and put them away–or cut them up, if you have to, to make sure they’re not available for easy use.

Those are the first steps toward improving your credit. You have shown good faith with your creditors, and you’ve stopped accumulating further debt. Don’t expect miracles, because it will take time to undo the financial difficulty that may have taken years to get yourself in to. But you can do it, and you’ll find most of your creditors will be quite willing to help. After all, they have a financial stake in this, too.

It can be a long, difficult process, but if you face up to your difficulty, summon your courage, and then begin to take positive steps, you CAN once again find yourself on the road to regaining control of your finances.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher teaches how to get out from under credit card debt, how to use credit to make money, and six ways to build strong credit to finance your first home and multiple investment properties. For free credit advice and free ebook “Credit Tips for Mortgage Financing,” see worryfreecredit.com

If you’ve done any searching on the Internet for information pertaining to “Credit Repair,” you’ve no doubt found that there’s a great deal available. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of misinformation as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misstatements you’ll come across and examine them in detail.

MYTH #1
“Credit repair doesn’t work!”

While it’s true that credit repair is more “art” than “science” that’s not to say it doesn’t work. If you undertake to repair your bad credit score, there’s never any guarantee you can restore it to “perfect” status. But sometimes you can, and in almost every case you can at least affect some improvement in your credit score, and often major improvement at that!

First of all, credit reports for the most part are filled with errors. While there seems to be no general agreement, it’s estimated that anywhere from 1/3 (Attorney General of NY) to as many as 90% (Charles Givens Organization) of credit reports contain errors.

Removal of erroneous negative information alone will go a great way toward improving your credit score. But there’s more to the story, which brings us to myth #2.

MYTH #2
“Negative information that can be verified cannot be removed”

This is one of those statements that are “almost” true, but taken literally is misleading. As is often the case, the inclusion (or exclusion) of one seemingly small word makes the difference in a truthful statement, and one that’s not (or not necessarily) accurate.

Let’s take an analogy. Suppose it’s the middle of summer, and your grass has grown unusually high. Let’s also suppose that you own a lawn mower, it’s in good working condition, and has plenty of gasoline in the tank.

Now let’s say that you’re sitting on your couch and say to yourself “My grass will get cut today because I ‘CAN’ go outdoors anytime and cut it.”

So will your grass get cut? Not necessarily! Just because you “can” go outdoors and cut your grass doesn’t mean it’s going to get done. You can repeat this statement to yourself all day long, but your grass isn’t going to get cut until you actually go outside and DO it!

Likewise, because a negative item on your credit report “can” be verified doesn’t mean it will be. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a credit bureau must investigate and verify “within a reasonable period of time” any item in your credit report that you dispute. If the “information is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall promptly delete such information.”

Now in this context “can be verified” clearly means verified by the credit bureau’s investigation of the item, and the “reasonable period of time” has been established (by subsequent rulings) to be 30 days. So if the credit bureau doesn’t complete its investigation of the disputed information within 30 days, or if for some reason the creditor fails to respond and verify the information, by law the disputed data must be deleted from your credit file.

MYTH #3
“Credit repair agencies are all scams”

It’s true that there ARE a good many unscrupulous credit repair agencies. But there are also some corrupt police officers, lawyers, and politicians. Yet we don’t label all members of these professions as “corrupt.”

If you’re looking for help to repair your bad credit you do need to be careful and do your “homework” when selecting an agency. There are many honest credit repair companies that are not “scams.” But beware of any who make promises as to results!

As stated above, it’s not always possible to restore your bad credit history to perfect status, and no one should be making any promises to that effect. Beware of any company that does! And while an agency will in all likelihood be able to improve your credit score, if any agency makes this promise, be sure it’s accompanied by a money back guarantee. Otherwise, look elsewhere. And don’t forget to ask for references and follow up on them.

MYTH #4
“You have to hire a credit repair agency or lawyer to fix your credit”

Going back to the analogy above, you can always hire someone else to cut your grass (or to do just about anything else) for your. And if fixing your own credit seems an intimidating task, you might prefer to hire a credit repair company to do it.

But it’s not really necessary that you do. First of all, credit repair agencies aren’t cheap. You can expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 or more. Plus, you’ll be paying a high fee for something you can just as well do for yourself, which brings us to myth #5.

MYTH #5
“It’s too difficult or complicated to fix your own credit”

A credit repair company isn’t going to do anything for you that you can’t do for yourself! Credit repair isn’t rocket science. It involves writing letters to credit bureaus and to creditors. If you’re able to write a letter, put a stamp on it and mail it, you’re able to repair your own credit.

“Given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own credit”

This statement IS true! You’re entirely able to repair your own credit, given the proper knowledge. And given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own car, repair your own plumbing, or for that matter perform brain surgery.

While fixing your own credit is relatively simple and straightforward, you do have to know how to go about it. Essentially it involves getting a copy of your credit report and writing letters to the 3 major credit bureaus disputing negative information in your file.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. In fact even some of the high priced credit repair agencies get it wrong, which brings us to myth #6.

MYTH #6
“You improve your credit score by getting all the negative items on your credit report removed”

It’s possible to get all the negative items on your credit report removed and actually see you credit score go DOWN as a result! The reason? Your credit score depends on a number of factors, one of which is the length of your credit history. In some cases, you’re better off to NOT remove some negative items on your report, especially if they involve a few late payments in the distant past, but show timely payments during recent years.

While the “nuts and bolts” of credit repair is beyond the scope of this report, there are a number of sources of good information online. If you have bad credit, there are 3 major points you should keep in mind:

1. If you have a bad credit history, it can (and probably will) cost you many tens of thousands of dollars in higher loan interest over the years, as you’ll be charged much higher rates than you would be with good credit. If your credit is really bad, you may not be able to get a loan at all!

2. The situation isn’t hopeless! In almost every case you CAN improve your credit score. You can easily do it yourself or find a reputable agency to do it for you. But in any case, GET IT DONE!

3. If you choose to repair your own credit (recommended) there are good books and eBooks available that can walk through the process. Get hold of one and get started NOW!

© 2005 by eBusiness Power

Jim Eastman is the support contact for www.ErasingBadCredit.com. People wanting to repair their credit can visit the site to sign up for a free mini-course on Credit Repair

Are you wanting to apply for a new credit card but feeling hesitant to perform the credit card application online? If so, you need not be concerned. Advances in the technology of secure e-commerce have made online credit card applications literally safer than filling out a paper application and mailing it through the US Postal Service. Here’s why.

SSL Technology

First, banking institutions that offer online credit card applications use the most up-to-date technology to ensure that their web sites are protected against intrusion and data theft. This technology is known as SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a transmission protocol that “encrypts” any data sent between the bank and your computer, such as all the personal information you need to fill out when applying for a credit card.

Encryption

What exactly is encryption? It is a sophisticated mathematical process that disguises data by altering the bits of information in ways that are undecipherable to others. You have probably done encryption in your childhood days when you sent messages to friends in school using a secret language such as reversing the alphabet, so that A meant Z, and Z meant A. That early game was actually a form of encryption.

In the early days of the Internet, encryption used 40-bits, which meant that a character of data could be transformed into another character in any one of 2 to the 40th power ways, which is approximately 1 trillion ways. But as large as that number is, computer security experts realized that people, including criminals, who had access to very powerful computers could crack 40-bit encryption in a short period of time, ranging from a few days to a few seconds depending on the power of their computers.

Therefore, in the late 1990s, a much more powerful type of encryption was introduced using 128 bits. This means that each character of data can be altered in any of 2 to the 128th power ways, a code which represents an astronomical number of possible variations that would take on the order of 20,000 years to break using today’s fastest computers. The use of 128-bit encryption has thus completely altered the safety of data.

Two Encryption Keys Required

Furthermore, today’s encryption methods use what is called the “two-key” algorithm whereby the sending computer and the receiving computer use both a “public” key and a “private” key to encrypt and then decrypt any data exchanged between them. The process is complex to explain, but suffice it to say that the two-key approach makes it impossible for all intents and purposes for an outside party such as a criminal to capture and interpret any data transmitted between two computers over an Internet site using SSL technology - because the criminals will not have both keys.

Online Credit Card Applications - No Safer Method

In short, SSL technology virtually guarantees that if you fill out a credit card application over the Internet using a bank’s secure application page, all your personal information can never be stolen or broken into.

Compare this to a paper credit card application which you send via the US Post Office. Think about how many mailboxes are broken into each year and how many pieces of mail are somehow lost - and you will now realize that applying for a credit card over the Internet is actually the most secure method you can find.

So if you want or need a new credit card in order to expand your credit capabilities or to get bonus points or travel rewards, the best thing to do is to go to one of the web sites that allows you to compare credit card offers, then click through to the secure web site for the bank you choose to fill out their online credit card application. You will also benefit from this because your application will be processed within minutes and you can often get an immediate approval rather than waiting weeks as you do when you mail in a paper application.

All in all, rest assured that computer security experts are working hard to protect consumers from crime and identity theft as Internet banking, e-commerce, and credit card payments are increasingly processed online.

Copyright 2005 Ed Vegliante.

Ed Vegliante runs the website www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com , a credit card directory enabling the consumer to compare and apply for credit card offers. Find links to secure online credit card applications.

Bad credit loans seem to be a hot topic these days. In fact, if you need a bad credit loan, you’re likely to find an overabundance of information.

See if this sounds familiar. You need a loan. Maybe you want to buy a car, enroll in college, or take out a home improvement loan. Or perhaps you’re a first time home buyer and you’re looking for a mortgage. The problem is, you’ve got a bad credit history, and you’re afraid you won’t be able to find a lender.

But then you do a little research on bad credit loans and find that, lo and behold, there ARE loans for people with bad credit available! In fact, EVERYONE wants to give you a loan. Loans for cars, mortgage loans, student loans, personal loans, loans for just about anything you want. Not only loans, but credit cards too. Why, who would have ever thought is would be so easy to get a loan when your credit history is so dismal?

So, that’s great news, right? RIGHT?

Let’s just stop for a moment. Ask yourself “Why is everyone so eager to extend credit to me when my credit history is so bad?”

The question can be answered in two words — HIGH RATES. Sure, you can get a bad credit loan easily enough. But you’ll “pay through the nose” when it comes to the interest rate.

So “What’s the ‘big deal’ about paying a little higher rate?” you ask. Let’s look at a few figures.

Suppose you want to buy a car. After looking long and hard, you find the “perfect” car for $20,000. So you apply for a car loan and get a loan with no trouble, but because of your poor credit, you have to pay 20% interest. On a 60 month loan, your monthly payments will be $529.88.

Now if your credit were very good, you might have gotten the same 60 month loan at an interest rate as low as 10%, with monthly payments of $424.94.

The bottom line is, over the life of the loan you’ll have paid an additional $6,296.40 in interest that you would NOT have paid if you had you gotten the loan at 10% interest. Your bad credit loan will have cost you $6,296 more FOR THE SAME CAR!

But if you think that’s bad, take a look at a home mortgage loan.

Suppose you want to buy a $100,000 home and you’re just thrilled to find a lender willing to give you a 30 year loan in spite of your bad credit. He’ll charge you 12% interest, and your monthly payment will be $1,028.61.

If your credit had not been so bad, you could have gotten the loan for a rate closer to 9%. If your credit had been very good, you might have been charged only 6% interest and your monthly payment would have been $599.55.

The bottom line? That bad credit loan will have cost you (over the 30 year term) a staggering $154,461.60 MORE than you would have paid had you gotten a loan at the 6% rate.

No, this is NOT a typo. Your lender will pocket $154,461.60 in additional interest payments because you were charged a higher rate for a bad credit loan. That’s over 1 times the cost of the house itself!

So why did he charge you the higher rate? Because he knows he can get it! After all, he’s got you “over a barrel.” He knows (and you know) that you need a loan, but because of your bad credit no one’s going to give you one at a low interest rate.

Do you see now why people are so eager to lend you money in spite of your bad credit? In fact, credit reporting companies make a fortune selling lenders the names of people who have bad credit. Those lenders know they can charge them high rates, and that if they need credit, they have no choice but to pay them.

So what’s the solution? You may be thinking “What choice do I have anyway? My credit is bad, I need a loan to get a house (or car, college education, or whatever) and there’s just nothing I can do about it except find a lender willing to give me a loan at whatever interest rate I can get!”

But consider for a moment whether you might be looking at the situation from a completely wrong angle. Rather than resign yourself to the situation, you should be thinking about repairing your credit.

Now if you just found the house of your dreams, you may have no choice but to act now before someone else buys it. But if you can wait a couple of months, it’s highly likely you can make some major improvement in your credit score and THEN look for a loan.

Maybe this isn’t what you wanted to hear. After all, you’re looking for a loan, NOT credit repair advice. But wouldn’t it be worth it to postpone getting that house or that car if it would save you thousands, tens of thousands, or maybe even $150,000.00 or more over the long haul?

If you’re thinking your bad credit history is something you’re just stuck with, or that it will take years to improve, you’re mistaken. It’s often possible to make major improvements in your credit rating in just a few months, and in some cases in as little as 30 days!

It’s not that difficult either. You basically have 2 options. You can hire a “Credit Repair Agency” or you can take the “do it yourself” approach.

If you decide to hire an agency, you can easily find one in your phone book or online. Just look for “credit repair.” However, it won’t be cheap. Agencies usually charge from $2,500 to $5,000 or more to repair your credit. But that’s still a bargain compared to how much you’ll be saving in the long run.

But if you think only a professional agency can fix your credit, think again! In spite of their high fees, they won’t do anything for you that you can’t easily do for yourself. If you can write a few letters, address, stamp, and mail them you can repair your own credit.

If you choose the “do it yourself” route (recommended) you can learn how by doing some online research. Unfortunately, along with all the good information you’ll find some misinformation as well. A better option is to find an authoritative book on credit repair and follow the advice therein.

In conclusion, you should seriously consider postponing your search for a bad credit loan. First spend a couple of months improving your credit rating. Then you can abandon the search altogether, and begin looking for a GOOD credit loan!

(c) eBusiness Power

Jim Eastman is the support contact for www.ErasingBadCredit.com. People wanting to repair

their credit rather than pay thousands too much for a bad

credit loan, can visit the site and sign up for a free mini-coures on credit repair.

If you have recently filed bankruptcy, you may wonder if its possible to get auto financing again. There are more and more loan companies all the time that have new programs to help finance people with bad credit. An auto loan is easier to get financing for than a personal loan or an unsecured loan because the lender can use the car as collateral against the loan, in case the borrower ever defaults or doesn’t make the loan payments.

Here are some tips to help you when getting financing to purchase or refinance a vehicle after a recent bankruptcy.

1. Get Financed To Re-establish Your Credit - Getting a new car loan can help you re-establish your credit when you make your payments on time. Once you have made payments on time for about 6 months or longer, you should be able to refinance your car at a much lower rate. As you make your payments on time, your credit score will increase.

2. Buy The Lowest Priced Car You Can - When financing a car after a recent bankruptcy, you can expect to see interest rates as high as 14-19% or more. It is not wise to buy a car that is more expensive than you need because, initially, you will be paying such a high interest rate on the amount you are borrowing on. If you do want a more expensive car, wait until you have made payments on time for a year or two, after your credit rating has increased. Then, you should be able to get an interest rate of around 9-10% or less.

3. Get Multiple Offers - There are many lenders online that will offer you up to 4 offers from one application. Most of these loan companies will not even pull your credit with the initial application, they will just ask you to describe your credit. This way, your credit score will not drop from being pulled too often.

See my recommended

After Bankruptcy Auto Lenders online.
Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide, which offers help with after bankruptcy car loans.

There are credit card tips, and then there are credit card secrets. These latter are little known tricks that credit card companies play on you, as well as tricks you can use to get rid of fees and pay off your debt sooner. Here are some of the best credit card tips, tricks and secrets.

1. You can get rid of annual fees. If you have good credit, just call and ask for fee to be removed. This worked on three out of four cards I called on, and I just dumped the other. Of course the threat to do the same with the others is what got the fees dropped.

2. Read the fine print, and pay on time. Be aware that under “universal default” rules, if you are late on one card, your interest rate can be increased on other cards as well. They love to get you with this one.

3. Watch for changing due dates. This is a trick used by some credit card companies to get you to pay late, so they can collect the late fees. They will also be able to raise your rate, and the rate on other cards you may have. Don’t assume that your payment due date will always be the same.

4. Use promotional checks with care. Transferring balances to 0 interest promotions can be a good idea, but watch out for those that charge “balance transfer fees.” Transferring a balance that you were going to pay off soon anyhow will just cost you more if there is a 3% transfer fee.

5. Try credit unions for cards. Their cards usually have lower rates. My credit union Visa rate hasn’t been over 10% in years, and I have zero liability for unauthorized charges.

6. Ask to have the late fee waived. If you’ve never been late before, some credit card companies will waive a late fee - but only if you ask. Why not try it? All it takes is a phone call.

7. Pay in full every month. Credit cards are for convenience, not for hiding the true cost of things. Don’t pay interest - just pay the balance every month.

8. Don’t buy the credit card insurance. This typically stops your payments when you are injured or unemployed. It is one of the most over-priced insurances out there, and doesn’t eliminate the debt, but just delays it.

9. Avoid credit card security insurance. It pays for unauthorized charges when your card is stolen, but you are only liable for the first $50 if you report the theft in any case, and many cards already have 0 liability.

10. Pay high-interest cards first to reduce credit card debt. If you have $200 monthly to apply to your credit card debt, pay only the minimums only on all cards but the card with the highest interest rate. Put all the rest of the money towards that one. Once that one is paid off, work on the next highest. This is the fastest way to get rid of your credit card debt, and the most important of these credit card tips.

Steve Gillman has been hunting down obscure knowledge and useful secrets for years. Learn more and get a free gift at: The Secret Information Site (www.TheSecretInformationSite.com)

If you’ve done any searching on the Internet for information pertaining to “Credit Repair,” you’ve no doubt found that there’s a great deal available. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of misinformation as well.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misstatements you’ll come across and examine them in detail.

MYTH #1
“Credit repair doesn’t work!”

While it’s true that credit repair is more “art” than “science” that’s not to say it doesn’t work. If you undertake to repair your bad credit score, there’s never any guarantee you can restore it to “perfect” status. But sometimes you can, and in almost every case you can at least affect some improvement in your credit score, and often major improvement at that!

First of all, credit reports for the most part are filled with errors. While there seems to be no general agreement, it’s estimated that anywhere from 1/3 (Attorney General of NY) to as many as 90% (Charles Givens Organization) of credit reports contain errors.

Removal of erroneous negative information alone will go a great way toward improving your credit score. But there’s more to the story, which brings us to myth #2.

MYTH #2
“Negative information that can be verified cannot be removed”

This is one of those statements that are “almost” true, but taken literally is misleading. As is often the case, the inclusion (or exclusion) of one seemingly small word makes the difference in a truthful statement, and one that’s not (or not necessarily) accurate.

Let’s take an analogy. Suppose it’s the middle of summer, and your grass has grown unusually high. Let’s also suppose that you own a lawn mower, it’s in good working condition, and has plenty of gasoline in the tank.

Now let’s say that you’re sitting on your couch and say to yourself “My grass will get cut today because I ‘CAN’ go outdoors anytime and cut it.”

So will your grass get cut? Not necessarily! Just because you “can” go outdoors and cut your grass doesn’t mean it’s going to get done. You can repeat this statement to yourself all day long, but your grass isn’t going to get cut until you actually go outside and DO it!

Likewise, because a negative item on your credit report “can” be verified doesn’t mean it will be. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a credit bureau must investigate and verify “within a reasonable period of time” any item in your credit report that you dispute. If the “information is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified, the consumer reporting agency shall promptly delete such information.”

Now in this context “can be verified” clearly means verified by the credit bureau’s investigation of the item, and the “reasonable period of time” has been established (by subsequent rulings) to be 30 days. So if the credit bureau doesn’t complete its investigation of the disputed information within 30 days, or if for some reason the creditor fails to respond and verify the information, by law the disputed data must be deleted from your credit file.

MYTH #3
“Credit repair agencies are all scams”

It’s true that there ARE a good many unscrupulous credit repair agencies. But there are also some corrupt police officers, lawyers, and politicians. Yet we don’t label all members of these professions as “corrupt.”

If you’re looking for help to repair your bad credit you do need to be careful and do your “homework” when selecting an agency. There are many honest credit repair companies that are not “scams.” But beware of any who make promises as to results!

As stated above, it’s not always possible to restore your bad credit history to perfect status, and no one should be making any promises to that effect. Beware of any company that does! And while an agency will in all likelihood be able to improve your credit score, if any agency makes this promise, be sure it’s accompanied by a money back guarantee. Otherwise, look elsewhere. And don’t forget to ask for references and follow up on them.

MYTH #4
“You have to hire a credit repair agency or lawyer to fix your credit”

Going back to the analogy above, you can always hire someone else to cut your grass (or to do just about anything else) for your. And if fixing your own credit seems an intimidating task, you might prefer to hire a credit repair company to do it.

But it’s not really necessary that you do. First of all, credit repair agencies aren’t cheap. You can expect to pay anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 or more. Plus, you’ll be paying a high fee for something you can just as well do for yourself, which brings us to myth #5.

MYTH #5
“It’s too difficult or complicated to fix your own credit”

A credit repair company isn’t going to do anything for you that you can’t do for yourself! Credit repair isn’t rocket science. It involves writing letters to credit bureaus and to creditors. If you’re able to write a letter, put a stamp on it and mail it, you’re able to repair your own credit.

“Given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own credit”

This statement IS true! You’re entirely able to repair your own credit, given the proper knowledge. And given the proper knowledge, you can fix your own car, repair your own plumbing, or for that matter perform brain surgery.

While fixing your own credit is relatively simple and straightforward, you do have to know how to go about it. Essentially it involves getting a copy of your credit report and writing letters to the 3 major credit bureaus disputing negative information in your file.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. In fact even some of the high priced credit repair agencies get it wrong, which brings us to myth #6.

MYTH #6
“You improve your credit score by getting all the negative items on your credit report removed”

It’s possible to get all the negative items on your credit report removed and actually see you credit score go DOWN as a result! The reason? Your credit score depends on a number of factors, one of which is the length of your credit history. In some cases, you’re better off to NOT remove some negative items on your report, especially if they involve a few late payments in the distant past, but show timely payments during recent years.

While the “nuts and bolts” of credit repair is beyond the scope of this report, there are a number of sources of good information online. If you have bad credit, there are 3 major points you should keep in mind:

1. If you have a bad credit history, it can (and probably will) cost you many tens of thousands of dollars in higher loan interest over the years, as you’ll be charged much higher rates than you would be with good credit. If your credit is really bad, you may not be able to get a loan at all!

2. The situation isn’t hopeless! In almost every case you CAN improve your credit score. You can easily do it yourself or find a reputable agency to do it for you. But in any case, GET IT DONE!

3. If you choose to repair your own credit (recommended) there are good books and eBooks available that can walk through the process. Get hold of one and get started NOW!

© 2005 by eBusiness Power

Jim Eastman is the support contact for www.ErasingBadCredit.com. People wanting to repair their credit can visit the site to sign up for a free mini-course on Credit Repair

You may already have 2 or more credit cards in your purse or wallet and you have just applied for a third and been declined. This can be very frustrating considering you pay off your other credit cards regularly and you are continually having your credit limit raised.

This is a common problem and the only way to find out more is by getting a copy of your Credit Report. Equifax and Experian are the two main credit reference companies in the UK and hold credit details of over 40 million people. Your file includes information about all your credit cards, loans, mortgages, bank account details, as well as any adverse bill payments or County Court Judgements against you.

When a Credit Provider asses your credit risk they will look at your Credit Report and make a decision based on your scoring. Your score is based on several factors. You may get more points for living in your address for more than 3 years or for having a home telephone, be married or for having children. Your age and profession can also help your score. The more points you have on your file the more chance you have of being approved for credit. The credit provider will use all this information coupled with your credit history to come to a decision. A Credit Providers scoring system is sensitive information so it’s not easy to understand why you were refused credit.

By having access to your Credit Report you will be able to get a sense of why you possibly have not been granted Credit. Another important point is to check and see that everything on your report is correct. You are allowed to make corrections to your file. As most people don’t get their Credit Report they never know what’s on it or why they are being refused credit. If you fell behind in some of your bill payments you are also allowed to add a note explaining why you did. This may also improve your score.

With all the 0% credit cards on offer its worth mentioning that if you are continuously applying for these cards you could be damaging your credit score. The number of times you apply within a 6 to 12 month period can have an adverse effect on your score. If you have been refused credit, don’t just move on to the next lender, find out as much as possible as to why it was declined before applying somewhere else.

You can find out more about your Credit Report at Experian and Equifax. It costs £2 for a basic report.

Grant Marwick is a freelance writer and owner of http://www.only-credit-cards.co.uk where you will find advice and more articles on Low interest Credit Cards and Credit Reports

One of the most popular courses institutions have for people learning mathematics is algebra. There are a lot of pupils who are doing algebra because they have troubles being able to learn the subject.

Although a lot of pupils are not truly sure of what is involved in algebra but it is not terrifying as a lot of people think. Some of the primary parts of algebra include finding least common multiple, factoring difference of cubes and reducing fractions.

When students are studying maths, particularly at college level it is very essential for them to apply some preparation and also some persistence in learning mathematical concepts progressively. There are a lot of college maths courses of study at introductory stage that are built-up around constructing a strong path for the route into advanced mathematics as they enable learning the core skills that are required.

Who offers aid?

There are a lot of different software systems that can be used to aid you with algebra and these include systems such as algebra tutors. It is also possible to get a math tutor if you are genuinely uncertain about your algebra skills. The packages are very good and will aid you with all aspects of algebra including rational inequalities , drawing quadratic equations, adding fractions with same denominators and on master the basic and more complex topics of algebra.

If you start studying mathematics from the beginning, it is a good idea to do one of the first level courses of study as they will teach you the very basics and build on that so that you are able to get up to the more higher stage of maths. The beginning courses also teach you the science of algebra through the use of a large number of different models and methods so this is an ideal beginning point for the beginner to algebra.

Why Virtual Tutors are Not Perfect?

The only trouble with maths courses is that they sometimes do not follow things in a very logical order and this especially is the case when you are a pupil at primary school. A lot of the pupils at school are really very ill-prepared for covering algebra and they do not truly have no background knowledge in it.