Credit Scores & Credit Reports


Book Description

This book addresses a host of issues concerning credit reporting in the United States. The book is designed to help readers gain a greater understanding of the credit reporting and scoring system, and how it impacts them. As the disclaimer states, this book does not give legal advice. Legal advice can only be given case-by-case by a lawyer, which this author is not.




Creditworthy


Book Description

The first consumer credit bureaus appeared in the 1870s and quickly amassed huge archives of deeply personal information. Today, the three leading credit bureaus are among the most powerful institutions in modern life—yet we know almost nothing about them. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are multi-billion-dollar corporations that track our movements, spending behavior, and financial status. This data is used to predict our riskiness as borrowers and to judge our trustworthiness and value in a broad array of contexts, from insurance and marketing to employment and housing. In Creditworthy, the first comprehensive history of this crucial American institution, Josh Lauer explores the evolution of credit reporting from its nineteenth-century origins to the rise of the modern consumer data industry. By revealing the sophistication of early credit reporting networks, Creditworthy highlights the leading role that commercial surveillance has played—ahead of state surveillance systems—in monitoring the economic lives of Americans. Lauer charts how credit reporting grew from an industry that relied on personal knowledge of consumers to one that employs sophisticated algorithms to determine a person's trustworthiness. Ultimately, Lauer argues that by converting individual reputations into brief written reports—and, later, credit ratings and credit scores—credit bureaus did something more profound: they invented the modern concept of financial identity. Creditworthy reminds us that creditworthiness is never just about economic "facts." It is fundamentally concerned with—and determines—our social standing as an honest, reliable, profit-generating person.




Your Score


Book Description

A road map for how to navigate the confusing, secretive world of consumer credit, and how to upgrade and correct your score.




Dirty Little Secrets


Book Description

Explains little known advice and tips for improving a credit score, including how to remove damaging information and negotiate with creditors.




Your Credit Score, Your Money & What's at Stake (Updated Edition)


Book Description

“A great credit score can help you finish rich! Liz Pulliam Weston gives solid, easy-to-understand advice about how to improve your credit fast. Read this book and prosper.” David Bach, bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner “Excellent book! Insightful, well written, and surprisingly interesting. Liz Pulliam Weston has done an outstanding job demystifying an often intimidating and frustrating topic for the benefit of all consumers.” Eric Tyson, syndicated columnist and bestselling author of Personal Finance for Dummies “No one makes complex financial information easy to understand like Liz Pulliam Weston. Her straight-talk and wise advice are invaluable to anyone with a credit card or check book—and that’s just about all of us.” Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich “In a country where consumers increasingly pay more when they have bad credit, Liz Pulliam Weston’s book provides excellent tips and advice on ways to improve your credit history and raise your credit score. If you just apply one or two of her insightful suggestions, you’ll save many times the cost of this book.” Ilyce R. Glink, financial reporter, talk show host, and bestselling author of 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask “Your credit score can save you money or cost you money—sometimes a lot of money. Yet, most people don’t even know their scores, much less know how to make them better. Liz Pulliam Weston can help you fix that. In this easy-to-understand guide you’ll learn how to make sure your score helps you get the best deal on loans and insurance. You can’t afford not to read it.” Gerri Detweiler, consumer advocate and founder of UltimateCredit.com The #1 Best-Selling Guide to Improving Your Credit Score... Now Thoroughly Updated for the Financial Crisis! In post-crash America, it’s tough to get credit...and even tougher to get rates and terms you can afford. That makes your credit score more important than ever before. Now, MSN Money/L.A. Times personal finance columnist Liz Pulliam Weston has updated her best-selling book on credit scores to show how you can maximize your score right now—and save yourself a fortune! Weston reveals the tough new realities of borrowing and credit scoring, and shows why they aren’t going to change any time soon. She rips away the mystery surrounding credit scoring, including the FICO 08 overhaul, and tells you exactly how to use the new system to maximize your score. You’ll learn how to fight back against lenders who want to lower your limits or raise your rates...bounce back from bad credit and bankruptcy...choose the right credit solutions and avoid options that only make things worse. One step at a time, Weston will help you build (or rebuild) your credit score—so you can get the credit you need and deserve! Survive a credit crisis, one step at a time How to protect or rebuild your credit score after a major financial setback Fix your credit score in as little as 72 hours Rapid rescoring: what it can fix, what it can’t fix, and how to use it Don’t let the myths of credit scoring cost you a fortune! What you’ve been told just isn’t true: how credit scores really work What drives your score—and what doesn’t The real impact of credit cards, loans, late payments, inquiries, credit counseling, and more




Credit Repair Kit For Dummies


Book Description

Now, you can finally end the cycle of bad credit and get back on your feet by following the step-by-step advice and tools in Credit Repair Kit For Dummies, 2nd Edition. You’ll find out everything you need to know about creating a solid plan to get your credit back on track. You’ll discover how to find your credit report, review all of the information in it, and learn how you can repair and spruce it up. You’ll learn how to communicate with creditors and how to budget so that you can pay your bills in full and on time. You’ll learn how to apply these credit strategies to all life situations, from building credit with your life partner to financially surviving a divorce, unemployment, and student loans. You will find out how to safe-guard your identity so that other people don’t damage your credit. Find out how to: Take charge of your credit Get help from credit counselors Request copies of your credit report Know how to interpret your credit report and credit score Avoid foreclosure Communicate with collectors, lawyers, and the courts Manage medical debt Safe-guard your identity Complete with lists of ten tips to avoid identity theft and reduce damages, ten ways you can prevent foreclosure, ten methods for establishing and improving credit, and ten strategies for handling financial emergencies, Credit Repair Kit For Dummies, 2nd Edition is your one-stop guide to improving and maintaining your credit score and protecting your identity. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.




Worry-Free Money


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER "A fresh way to think about your money." David Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber Stop budgeting. Start living. Managing your money can be frustrating and confusing. Life is expensive. Whether you make $30,000 or $130,000 a year, it can feel like you’re constantly broke. Can you afford that new car, that vacation, that night out? You think so, but it feels impossible to know. And rigid budgets that force you to spend your money in unrealistic ways (like $9.50 per week for pants) don’t make things any clearer. But what if there was a new way to manage your money? One that left you certain you had your bases covered—both for your monthly bills and your future retirement—and then let you enjoy your money by spending it. (Yes, really.) Enter Shannon Lee Simmons, a fresh voice in the world of personal finance, one who understands the new and very real pressures to survive modern life and keep up in the age of social media. Shannon doesn’t lecture, judge or patronize. The founder of the wildly popular New School of Finance, Shannon recognized that most of her thousands of financial planning clients felt broke, no matter what their income. And feeling broke can be as bad as actually being broke, because it leads to overspending and misery. So she came up with a new plan: Worry-Free Money. Worry-Free Money takes a fresh approach to finances, looking at the root cause of the pressure to spend and showing why traditional budgets don’t work. It is a deeply practical book that will help you break the cycle of guilt, understand why you overspend, banish unhappy spending from your life, learn to recognize your f*ck it moments and find hope—and fun—in getting your money under control.




The Road to 850


Book Description




The Everything Improve Your Credit Book


Book Description

Do you know your credit score? Do you know how to improve it? The Everything Improve Your Credit Book teaches you about the importance of good credit and how it affects your life. Author Justin Pritchard, M.B.A., the About.com Guide to Banking and Loans, demystifies the often intimidating world of credit, with practical guidance on how to improve credit history and increase your credit score. With tips on avoiding common mistakes that reduce credit scores and ways to improve bad credit, this easy-to-use guide provides you with valuable information on: -The anatomy of a credit report -How the credit system works and what credit scores mean -Bad credit habits to avoid -How a good credit score will save you money (and how a bad score can cost a lot of money) -How to get your free credit report (and when you should pay for one) -How to correct mistakes in your report -Packed with sensible, real-world advice, The Everything Improve -Your Credit Book helps you to take control of your finances, save money, and build enough good credit for a lifetime! AUTHOR Justin Pritchard, M.B.A., is a financial advisor specializing in personal finance. He is the About.com Guide to Banking and Loans. On a daily basis, he helps credit union members and retirement plan participants manage their finances. Justin lives in Littleton, CO.




How to Raise Your Credit Score


Book Description

This book will teach you everything you need to know to improve your credit score.