Results tagged “credit score” from Payday Loan Quotes Blog

Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to read a credit report. While each of the three credit bureaus uses a different format, they're all pretty cut and dry, whether you're reading it online or on paper.

Each report is separated into six sections: Personal ID Information, Credit History, Collections, Courthouse Records, Additional Information, Credit Inquiries.

Personal ID Information:
Here you'll find your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, and employment information, including your past employers and job titles. (This information is not used to determine your FICO score.) This section also may contain your spouse's name, the name of your employer, phone numbers, and your driver's license number.

Credit History:
This section contains your credit/loan accounts. For each account, the following information is listed:

Credit Cards (Revolving Credit)
1. Account name (American Express, Visa, Mastercard, etc.)
2. Account number
3. Date opened
4. Current balance
5. Highest balance
6. Amount past due
7. Credit limit
8. Type of credit - Revolving
9. Whether it's a joint or authorized account. A joint account makes your financially responsible for paying what the other joint holder spends. An authorized user doesn't and can help build your credit history and make it possible for you to qualify for an individual account.
10. Minimum payment required
11. Last activity - This date is the last payment or last charge you made.
12. Months reviewed - how many months the account history has been reported
13. Account status - open, paid and closed, inactive, paid in full
14. Your payment history - "pays as agreed," "30 days late," "60 days late, "90 days late," "charge off" (the credit has attempted to get paid but has given up)

Installment Loans
1. Date opened
2. Type of credit (installment -- mortgage, car loan, student loan, etc.)
3. Whether it's a joint, co-signed, individual account
4. Loan amount
5. Required monthly payments
6. Amount past due
7. How much you owe
8. Months reviewed - how many months the account history has been reported
9. Last activity - This date is the last payment you made.
10. Account status - open, paid and closed, inactive, paid in full
11. Your payment history - "pays as agreed," "30 days late," "60 days late, "90 days late," "charge off" (the credit has attempted to get paid but has given up)

Collections:
This section contains any delinquent accounts reported to collections agencies during the past 7 years. It contains the following:
• Name of collection agency
• Amount owed
When you pay off your debt, get it in writing from the collection agency and send it to the credit bureaus. Make sure the collection agency does the same.

Courthouse Records/Public Records:
This section contains the following records for up to 7 years, with the exception of bankruptcies:
• Bankruptcies (up to 10 years old)
• Foreclosures
• Overdue debt from collection agencies
• Tax liens
• Garnishments
• Lawsuits
• Judgments from state and county courts
• Overdue child support payments (in some states)

Additional Information:
This section may list your former employers and your past addresses.

Credit Inquiries:
This section is divided into two - voluntary and involuntary inquiries. Voluntary inquiries are those where creditors/lenders that have accessed your credit report with your permission over the last 2 years to determine your creditworthiness. Involuntary inquiries are those made by lenders that offer you credit by mail. These inquiries, and those made by your existing creditors, don't affect your credit score. However, if you accept a pre-approved credit card offer made in the mail, or apply for credit, that acceptance will lead to an inquiry that will affect your credit score.

To get a FICO credit score, you must have a credit account that reports to at least one of the three credit bureaus, and you must keep that account open for at least 6 months.
Note: As of September 2007, Fair Isaacs Corporation is changing their credit scoring software at each of the three credit bureaus. Authorized credit card account holders will no longer have a credit score. An authorized user is someone, usually a family member, who is allowed to use the account but who is not held financially responsible for payment. Permitting an authorized account has been a way for young people to establish credit. This change in credit scoring is to protect lenders from abuse in the marketplace of authorized user credit card accounts by so-called credit repair services that sell good credit card histories to those with poor histories, a strategy called "piggybacking."

Did you know? Your FICO score may be different at each of the three credit bureaus, because credit card companies may report to each one at a different time of the month and not all credit card companies report to all three bureaus.

A credit score is a mathematical computation that results in a number that's used to help lenders determine how likely it is that you'll pay back a loan. Your score is based on how you've handled paying back loans in the past. The higher your score, the less risk you pose of paying late or defaulting, the lower your interest rate. Hence, a higher credit score makes a loan less expensive for you.

The most frequently used credit score is the FICO score, which ranges from 300-850. They are created using software developed by Fair Isaacs Corporation. Most people score in the 600-700 range. Scores above 700 are desirable. Scores below 600 are considered a financial risk to lenders and creditors. While scores may vary among bureaus, they generally represent the same credit risk.
FICO scores are based on five factors. The level of importance of each factor varies by credit profile, and your profile changes over time. In general, they're weighted as follows:
• Payment history (35%)
• Amounts owed (30%)
• How long you've have credit (15%)
• Amount of new credit (10%)
• Types of credit used (10%)

It's easy to get into debt - just make a few big purchases on credit and make the minimum payments. The higher the interest rate, the faster you go down into the depths of debt, taking your credit score along for the ride. But you can turn it all around -- getting started is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Pay off or pay down your credit cards several weeks before they're due.
2. Correct any errors in your credit reports - errors are common!
3. Drop your credit card spending down to 10 percent or less of your available credit.

Do you want to save hundreds or thousands of dollars on loans? Your credit score can make a big difference! The amount you pay for a big-ticket item on credit can be quite different for someone with a high score compared with someone with a low score. Consider this: As of August 22, 2007, if you had a FICO score of 760-850, the highest bracket, you'd pay $1832 for a 30-year fixed rate $300,000 mortgage loan at 6.172 percent. But if you had a score of 500-579, the lowest bracket, you'd pay a whopping $2674 for that same mortgage, which would be at 10.188 percent. That's $842 more every month, $10,104 per year! These comparisons demonstrate how costly it is to have a low credit score and how much money a high credit score can save you.
The payoffs don't stop at lower interest rates on loans - with a high credit score you'll get quicker credit approval, reduced deposits required from utility companies, and approval for apartment rentals.

Welcome to the blog on paydayloanquotes.com. On this blog we will be posting all sorts of information about payday loans, repairing your credit, and understanding your FICO score. We hope you find this helpful and informative.