Nocita Carter's Blog

Should I Have My Credit Frozen?

This is better known as having a security freeze on your credit report to assist in detouring and hopefully eliminating individuals from using your credit information without your permission or knowledge.  A security freeze can also assist in the prevention of identity theft. 

The cost of having a security freeze placed on your credit report is minimal compared to the overall identity theft protection products that are currently available to the consumer.  In many instances you may be paying as much as $15 per month for identity theft protection that may not be effective in preventing your identity from being stolen.

The cost of placing a security freeze on your credit report with each credit bureau is approximately $10 if you are under the age 65.    If you are age 65 or older, the cost of placing a security freeze on your credit report with each credit bureau is approximately $5.  The overall cost to have a security freeze placed on your credit report file would depend on the laws of the state where you reside.

In many states, if you are a victim of identity theft there is no cost to place a security freeze on your credit report file with each credit bureau. A security freeze to protect your credit file is available to all consumers in the United States and U.S. territories. 

You may be wondering, how do I add a security freeze to my credit reports? Well, you can start by contacting each of the following credit bureaus directly to start the process:  TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. 

So, having a security freeze on your credit report file may be something you may want to consider.  By having a security freeze with each credit bureau, this may aid you in protecting yourself against identity theft.  In addition, if you have already been a victim of identity theft, freezing your credit report file, may help eliminate further problems with your credit information. You may want to visit the following websites for each of the credit bureaus to get started with obtaining your security freeze for each of your credit reports: 

TransUnion

Equifax

Experian

Is Your Wallet Hurting From The High Cost Of Gas?

I don’t know about you, but we are paying a lot of money for gas these days and any increase in the cost of gas that we pay at the gas pump hurts our wallet and overall finances!

You’re probably wondering how high will the price of gas continue to increase and when will we see the prices come back down if at all? Well, who really knows what the answer will be to this question.  In the meantime, we should prepare ourselves for either way the price goes.

We can work on preparing ourselves to be in the survival mode if the gas prices continue to increase.  We’ve seen gas prices that are steadily approaching the $5.00 mark and in some places this is already a reality. It appears that the future outlooks on gas prices are that the prices continue to be unstable and volatile.
 
We are very much aware that the price of gas is easily manipulated by whatever is going on in the marketplace.  The price of gas can easily go up and slowly come down and back up again in these uncertain economic times.

High gas prices impact almost everything we try to do in some form.  That’s right, most everything we do we are impacted by the high price we are paying for gas. The higher gas prices eventually trickle down to cost us more in food, clothing, airfare, utilities, entertainment and many other areas.

Just think, we are getting hit left and right with increased fees in these areas due to the high price that we are paying for gas and it appears that this trend will continue for a long period of time.  

What can we do to help ourselves in these hard times while we’re trying to deal with our anxiety and sometimes anger over the high prices we are paying for gas? Here are some tips that you may want to consider to help you cope. You may find that you have already started to make some of these adjustments already:

 

Tip One:
 

Consider using public transportation if this is something you realistically can do.  The modes of public transportation you may consider would be: bus, train and car pooling.

Tip Two:

If you have a bicycle, consider using this mode of transportation for local short trips if this would be realistic of course.

Tip Three: 

Go to places that are necessary and actually needed for you to drive your vehicle.  In other words, if it is something you want to do and it is not needed, don’t do it. Consider letting your needs supersede your wants to save in your wallet on gas.  For example, necessary trips would be: work, school, doctor appointments, etc.... I think you get the picture.

 

Tip Four: 

Reduce your leisure, entertainment and travel commuting distances.  Consider doing more of these activities at home or near your home.

Tip Five:

Consider purchasing a vehicle if this is within your budget to assist you in reducing the cost you are paying for your overall fuel costs.  Look for vehicles that provide higher mpg(miles per gallon) city and freeway driving.  

 

Tip Six:

Slow down! Reduce your speed on the roadways you travel on. This will also assist you in obtaining better fuel economy.  Put less petal to the metal!

Tip Seven:
 

Try to make your trips to the places you need to go count.  Make a list beforehand of the places you need to travel and consider consolidating your trips.  This means instead of making several multiple trips you combine trips by going to the places you need to go along the way and your list will assist you with this. 

For example, if you need to go to your local grocery store, cleaners and post office, just plan to make one trip instead of three separate trips back and forth from your home. 

You would take your list and stop at each place you need to along the way and strategically make sure that you plan your stops based on where these particular places are located.  This really can work well if you plan your list ahead of time. Just by doing this you can save money  on gas!

 

 Tip Eight:
 

Try to locate and compare prices of gas stations in your area to determine who has the lowest price on fuel and consider going there for gas.  A good way to do this is when you are driving to the places you need to go, just observe the gas station prices along the way and you will be able to determine which locations have the best prices for your money.  In addition, you may want to compare gas prices in your local area via the internet.

Tip Nine:

Talk to your relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers and others on the gas stations they are getting their gas from.  You can compare with each other on which gas stations have the lowest prices to get your gas.  You would be helping each other by networking information on the price of gas.

Tip Ten: 

Make sure your tires are property inflated. This can also assist in providing you with better fuel economy.

 

So, in order for you to survive the high cost of gas to your wallet you may want to consider using these tips to assist you.  These tips may be able to help you through this major problem that is affecting our wallets.  So, do what you can to help yourself and your family to reduce the amount of  money  you may be spending on gas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking About Purchasing A Vehicle?

Tamara has been planning on purchasing a vehicle for a couple of years.  She has decided to purchase a mid size SUV, but, she hasn’t chosen the model she plans on buying.  Tamara does know that she needs an SUV that will fit within her budget, meets her daily transportation needs and the vehicle she wants to purchase must be dependable. 

She is looking forward to buying her vehicle, but, she is a little apprehensive about going to a vehicle dealership to make her purchase.  Tamara is unsure how she should prepare herself before she goes to a dealership to look for the vehicle she would like to purchase.

Tamara wants to get the best deal for her money and she does not want to pay more than she has to.  In other words, Tamara wants to get the best deal possible and stay within her budget.  Well Tamara, you may want to consider these tips before you make your trip to a vehicle dealership to look for the SUV you want to purchase.

Tip One:

Consider researching on the internet for the vehicle you want to purchase before you go to the dealership.  After deciding on the type of vehicle you want to purchase, check the actual invoice price for the vehicle.  The actual invoice price would be the price the dealership paid for the vehicle from the vehicle manufacturer. You should be able to compare the actual invoice price of the vehicle against the manufacturer suggested retail price(MSRP).  This gives you the opportunity to negotiate the price of the vehicle you want to purchase.

Tip Two:

Skip purchasing extra unneeded features or accessories you don’t need or will not use in the vehicle you want to purchase.  Why would you want to pay extra for vehicle accessories or features if you really don’t want or need these items? Good question, so really think about this before you consider taking that leap.  Keep in mind by reducing or eliminating the extra features or accessories for your vehicle you will probably save more money on your vehicle purchase in the long run.

Tip Three:

Make sure that you test drive the vehicle you want to purchase before you consider buying the vehicle to determine whether or not this vehicle is the right choice for you.  Wouldn’t you want to know if you’re going to like the vehicle you’re thinking about buying before you spend your money?  Your answer to this question should be a definite yes.

By test driving a vehicle before you consider making a purchase, you will have the opportunity to decide whether or not this vehicle is really for you. If you decide the vehicle you have test driven is not for you, then no harm no fowl and you have not spent your  money  on something you do not want.    

Tip Four:

Consider getting your vehicle financing before you arrive at the dealership to purchase your vehicle.  You may be able to get a lower interest rate by going to your credit union or bank based on your credit rating.  By getting preapproved for your vehicle loan you may find that you are in a better position to negotiate the price of your vehicle with the dealership where you want to make your purchase.

Tip Five:

You may want to consider doing your vehicle purchase in stages by separating your vehicle selection, vehicle price negotiation, financing, and prospective trade-in.  Each component of your vehicle purchase stage is separate and should be handled as a separate unit in order for you to get the best overall vehicle purchase experience.

Tamara is now feeling more confident, equipped and better prepared with these tips to assist her.  She is very excited that she came across this  information  to assist her in her quest to purchase her vehicle and she is looking forward to purchasing her SUV in the near future.
 

 

Credit Card Red Flags To Avoid

Credit cards are a wonderful convenience for many consumers that utilize them.  However, credit cards can become an unhappy experience if not used wisely.  In today’s fast paced technological environment many people want the ability to pay for goods and services with ease.  With this in mind, it is important to recognize some of the red flags that a credit card user may want to avoid to minimize or alleviate potential problems along the way which include the following tips:

Tip One: 

Do you really want to charge a latte to your credit card? Is that latte really worth the interest you may be charged? You may want to think twice about this before you use your card to make small purchases.  Consider paying cash or using your debit card for certain purchases instead.

Tip Two:

Before using your credit card you may want to think about whether or not you can pay off your purchase in full when you receive your monthly statement. If your answer is no, then you may want to hold off on making that purchase until you can afford the product or service you want to buy.

Tip Three:

Have you recently checked on the amount you are paying in interest by looking at your credit card statement? If you determine that the annual percentage rate(APR) you’re paying is too much, then you may want to consider contacting your creditor to see if you can get your interest rate reduced.  If you’re unsuccessful in reducing your rate with your credit card company you may want to research other banks or credit unions to secure a lower interest rate in order to transfer your high interest balance to another credit card.

Tip Four:

Thinking about letting someone other than your spouse use your credit card or having a secondary user on your account? This is probably not a good idea.  Keep in mind that you will become ultimately responsible for any charges another person makes on your  credit  card account after you have authorized them to use it.

Tip Five:

Are you thinking about traveling to another country? Well if you are, you may want to check with your credit card company on what they will charge you for foreign currency exchange rates and international transaction fees.  These rates can vary so it is important that you check on this before you begin your travel plans.  This should eliminate unwanted surprises when you receive your credit card statement after you return from your travels abroad.

Tip Six:

Review your credit card statement monthly to assist you in correcting any errors that may be on your statement.  This may assist you in catching potential problems on your statement and will also help you to stay on track with your budget and bill paying.

 

Hopefully these tips may assist you with avoiding some of the potential credit card flags that can occur if you do not stay active in reviewing your credit card  information.

 

Looking To Get A Lower Interest Rate or Approval For A Home Loan?

So, you have submitted your loan application for a home or perhaps you’re trying to refinance your current mortgage to a lower interest rate when you’re suddenly told by your prospective lender that you are not approved for your loan or you are approved for the home loan but your interest rate will be astronomically high because of your credit report and score.  You may be in shock or disbelief about this news you just received from the lender because you thought your credit was in good standing and you would be able to qualify for a home loan and secure a lower interest rate.

You are probably wondering how you can go about trying to get a lower interest rate for your home loan or approval for a loan, you may want to consider using rapid rescoring.  Rapid rescoring is a service offered by most lenders and independent credit bureaus for a fee to assist consumers applying for a home mortgage to secure better interest rates for home loans and possible approval of a home loan.  It is noted that this service is not available directly to  consumers.  The consumer must go directly to the lender or mortgage broker to utilize rapid rescoring.

The way rapid rescoring works is that if there are mistakes or errors found on your credit report you will have to provide written documentation to prove there is an error or mistake on your credit report.  The documentation you have provided is then given to the rapid rescoring representative who will research and gather information to provide to the three national credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.  The rapid rescoring representative will ask the credit bureaus to correct your credit report information.  This process normally takes approximately twenty four to seventy two hours and your credit report is normally corrected and your credit score increases as a result of this effort.  It is noted that if you did this process yourself it could take several weeks to get your credit report corrected.  In many instances time is of the essence for the  consumer  attempting to secure a home loan purchase or refinance of an existing home mortgage.

Keep in mind when you’re trying to purchase a home or refinance your existing mortgage that you are diligent in trying to get the lowest interest rate you can and also ensure if you are turned down for a home loan that you give yourself a second chance by asking the lender or mortgage broker if they offer rapid rescoring.  In addition, if you decide to use rapid rescoring, be sure you do your part by providing the documentation needed by your rapid rescoring representative to assist in correcting negative information or errors that may be listed on your credit report.  You may also want to check with your rapid rescoring representative to see if your debt can be restructured to also increase your credit  score.

Looking To Improve Your Family Finances?

Alice was at home reviewing the monthly household bills on her desk.  She and her husband Mark had been living in their home for six years and they were the proud parents of three lovely children.  Alice was worried because for the past few months her family seemed to struggle with keeping their finances on track.  As she reviewed the household bills she wondered to herself how she and her husband could go about improving their family finances.  Well Alice you may want to consider some of these tips to assist your family with improving your finances:

Tip One:

Consider having a meeting with your entire family to discus your family finances.  Discuss your family’s financial goals when you meet.  Try to have each member of your family become an active participant in improving your family’s finances.  Keep in mind each member of your family has an important role in keeping your family on track to improving your family’s finances.  The earlier your children start learning about finances the more educated and knowledgeable they will become about handling their own personal finances for the future.

Tip Two: 

Schedule bi-weekly or monthly meetings with your family to keep everyone abreast of how all of you are doing to improve your family finances.  Be open to new ideas and adjustments that may be needed to improve your family finances along the way.  This will assist your family in accomplishing the financial goals you have established for yourselves.

Tip Three:

Try writing down all of your family expenses and income for a couple of months to see where your money goes.  This may assist you with tracking your expenses to determine if changes are needed to your  family budget.

Tip Four:

Before you buy an item consider your family first.  Make sure the item you are thinking about purchasing is something that your family really needs and you have already budgeted for this particular expenditure.  Remember to also determine whether or not the purchase you are considering is really a need instead of something you want.

Tip Five:

Consider teaching your children the importance of saving their money, planning and budgeting for items they are looking to purchase.

Tip Six:

Make sure that your spouse or significant other is aware of where important documents are kept, location and information on all financial accounts, safety deposit box location, employment information, etc…  You both want to ensure that you are fully prepared to handle personal and family affairs if a traumatic event occurs such as a death or some type of permanent disability.  A traumatic event could be worse without having knowledge of important information you may need to know in case of a traumatic situation.  Just ensure that you both are prepared just in case this happens to you.

So, Alice is ready to get started in discussing the  family finances  with her husband Mark and their children.  She believes that by using these tips her family will be well on their way to improving their family financial goals.

 

How Can I Dispute A Debt That Does Not Belong To Me?

 

Jennifer completed a credit application at a local vehicle dealership near her home.  She is ecstatic that she has saved enough money for a down payment to purchase her first vehicle. It took Jennifer several months to save the money she needed to purchase a vehicle to solve her transportation dilemma.  She commuted several hours daily on a bus to work and school and now she had the opportunity to cut her commute time significantly by securing a vehicle of her own. 

 

After Jennifer completed her credit application for her vehicle loan, the finance manager ordered her credit report and provided Jennifer with the outcome of her credit history.  The finance manager told Jennifer about a delinquent credit card that appeared on her credit report.  Jennifer was unaware of the credit card that was listed on her report.  In fact, this credit card did not even belong to her.  Unfortunately this credit card created a negative impact to her overall credit rating making it difficult for her to obtain financing for the vehicle she wanted to purchase.

 

Jennifer left the car dealership furious and upset that she was turned down for her vehicle loan because of the credit card that appeared erroneously on her credit report.  She decided that she would dispute the credit card charge listed on her report, but, she was unsure how she would go about doing this.  Well Jennifer, you may want to consider using these tips to dispute the credit card listed on your credit report:

 

Tip One:

Call the credit card company or creditor listed on your credit report and dispute the credit charges.  During your telephone conversation with the company representative secure their name, and mailing address for the company.

 

Tip Two:

Send a certified letter to the credit company confirming the telephone conversation you had with their representative and that you are disputing the charges applied to your credit.  Request that the creditor send you written information concerning the charges applied to your credit and the name of the original creditor.  Be sure to ask the creditor to remove the erroneous charge from all your credit reports and provide confirmation of when they anticipate this will be done to restore your credit. 

 

In the interim while you’re awaiting a written response from the creditor on this disputed credit charge listed on your credit report, the creditor or debt collector must report your dispute to the credit bureaus.  Keep in mind that it may take some time for the creditor to investigate your disputed credit charge.  Just be sure to follow-up with the creditor if you believe it is taking too long for a response to your request.

 

  

Tip Three:

Review all three of your credit reports (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian) to monitor any erroneous charges that may appear.  Follow-up with creditors on charges that do not belong to you to have this information investigated for removal from you credit reports.  You may want to consider ordering a copy of your credit reports annually for free at annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

 

Tip Four:

Continue to follow-up with the creditor on your dispute until the matter is resolved and your credit is restored.  Ensure that this information has been updated with all three credit bureaus to reflect your updated credit standing.

 

Tip Five:

If you continue to have problems with the creditor in getting your credit issue resolved you may want to consider contacting a non profit credit counseling service or legal counsel.

 

Tip Six:

Make sure you do not pay for debt that does not belong to you.  This may negatively impact your overall credit for several years.

 

Jennifer was now ready and armed with information to proceed with disputing the credit card listed on her credit report.  She felt confident that she would be able to get her credit issue resolved in order for her to purchase a vehicle.

Are There Any Alternatives To Using A Payday Loan?

Jenny is driving home from work and begins thinking about what awaits her when she arrives home.  She’s worried about the major task that lies ahead of her which is to find enough money to pay her bills.  Jenny knows that her paycheck will not cover all her bills and she is not sure what she is going to do to solve her dilemma.  She thought about taking out a payday loan, but, she fears that the amount of interest and fees she would be paying for this type of loan would make her situation worse and put her further into debt.

She began to wonder if there were any alternatives she should consider instead of getting a payday loan she could not afford.  Well Jenny, there are some alternatives available to you instead of using a payday loan.  You may want to consider using some of these tips:

Tip One: 

Check with your employer to see if you are able to do some overtime or if you can secure a payday advance.

Tip Two:

Contact your bank or credit union to see if you are able to obtain a personal loan.  In most instances the interest rates and fees you pay on a personal loan via your bank or credit union may be lower than what you may pay with a payday loan.

Tip Three:

Find out if your family members or friends are able to provide you with a personal loan.  If you are able to secure a personal loan via this method, ensure that you repay your loan  in a timely manner to avoid any potential conflicts with family members or friends.

Tip Four:

Contact your creditors to see if they will work out a revised payment plan with you which may be able to reduce your payments over a longer period of time.

Tip Five:

Consider looking at taking out a cash advance via your credit card if the interest rate is reasonable.  You may find that the interest rate charged for a cash advance on your credit card is less than what you’ll pay on a payday loan.

Tip Six:

Check with local organizations to determine if there is an emergency hardship loan program available to you.  It is possible you may be able to secure an emergency loan through a local organization for a short term period of time with a reasonable interest rate.

Tip Seven:

Consider contacting a non profit consumer credit counseling service to discuss your bill payment expenses and debt problems.

Jenny was glad she ran across these tips.  She decided that she would use this information to assist her with resolving her problem of determining how she would pay her bills  as an alternative method to using a payday  loan

What Can I Do To Fix My Bad Credit?

Roger was facing this same dilemma of not knowing what to do to fix his bad credit.  He had been laid off from his job for nine months and had not been able to pay all of his bills.  He recently found employment and was trying to get back on track with paying his bills.  His credit had suffered substantially during the time he was unemployed.  Unfortunately, Roger’s credit  situation is a problem that many people are currently facing due to the state of our economy. Roger wanted to start working on fixing his bad credit but he was unsure how he should proceed.  Well Roger, a good way for you to start is to take action by using some of the following tips:

Tip One: 

Order copies of your credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus:  Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  You are entitled to a free copy of your credit reports from each of these bureaus every twelve months if you make a request.  The centralized website to order your free annual credit report from each of the three credit bureaus is: annualcreditreport.com or you can call 1-877-322-8228. You can also obtain free copies of your credit reports from the three credit bureaus if you have been denied credit, insurance or employment. Just keep in mind that you will need to make a request to the three credit bureaus within sixty days of receiving the notice you have been denied credit,  employment or insurance.

Tip Two:

Consider paying off your higher interest rate credit  accounts first by making larger payments to decrease and eliminate your balances quicker.

Tip Three:

If your debt is totally out of control, consider utilizing a non profit credit counseling organization to assist you with consolidating your debt.  In many instances by using this type of service you may be able to reduce your finance charges and your monthly payments to your creditors.

Tip Four:

Consider not using the credit cards  and other retail credit accounts you already have.  You may want to put these credit  cards away in a safe place and only consider using them in case of a dire emergency.

Tip Five: 

Stay on track with paying your existing bills on time to assist you in rebuilding your credit.

Tip Six:

After repaying the majority of your outstanding debt you may want to consider applying for a new credit card to rebuild your credit history to a good standing.  Make sure that when you use this new credit card you pay off the balance timely every month. If you’re unable to qualify for a regular unsecured credit card then consider applying for a secured credit card to assist you with rebuilding your credit.

Tip Seven:

Secure a copy of your three credit reports and FICO score on an annual basis so you can keep track of what’s on your credit report.  Remember you’re working hard to rebuild your credit back to good standing and you don’t want any surprises on your credit reports.

Roger is now armed with information to get him started with his quest to fix his bad credit   by using these tips.  He now feels that he will be able to accomplish the task of rebuilding his credit to good standing and getting back on track for his future goal of becoming a homeowner.

How Do I Go About Lowering The Cost Of My Utility Bills?

Lowering the cost of your utility bills is really not a difficult task once you get started.  It seems that each and every day there are extra costs added to our living expenses that are simply out of our control.  Unfortunately we have to make up for these added expenditures out of our income.  Therefore, it is important that we reduce expenses any way we can.  A good place to start is by working on lowering the cost of your utility bills.  You’re probably wondering how do I go about doing this?  Well, you can start learning how to reduce your utility costs  by using some or all of the following tips:

Tip One:

Change your light bulbs to energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs if you have not already done this.  You will be glad you decided to use energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs because they use less electricity than your old light bulbs and last much longer. So, the sooner you replace your old light bulbs to energy saving bulbs the sooner you can start to see a savings in your electricity bill.

Tip Two:

How about during the day when it is cooler let the natural sunlight shine into your home. If it’s nice outside you may want to even open your windows if you can. You can adjust the amount of natural sunlight coming into your home with your window coverings and drapes.  If you’re looking to keep cool in your home keep your drapes and blinds closed.  However, if you want some warmth from the outside let the natural sunlight shine inside your windows.

Tip Three:

Consider replacing your regular thermostat to a programmable thermostat if you don’t have one already.  The programmable thermostat  can be set to automatically adjust the temperature in your home while you’re away from your home and while you’re sleeping.

Tip Four:

Turn off the lights in your home that are not being used.  You may want to also consider unplugging your appliances and cell phone chargers that are also not being used.

Tip Five: 

Check, clean or replace the air filter in your heating and air conditioning system on a regular basis.  You may want to consider checking your air filter every six months. 

Tip Six:   

Open or close your air vents when you want to maintain the coolness or heat in your home.

Tip Seven:

Maintain your refrigerator by adjusting the temperature based on the manufacturer’s recommendation.  If you have an older refrigerator that is not energy efficient you may want to consider replacing it if this fits into your budget. Keep in mind that refrigerators use lots of energy and the more energy efficient your refrigerator is the less money you will spend on your electric bill.  You may be able to get a rebate for purchasing your energy efficient refrigerator from the manufacturer or via your electric company.

Tip Eight:

Consider using fans as much as possible throughout your home to reduce your utility costs.

By using some or all of these tips you should have a good idea of what you can do to start working on reducing your utility bills. So go ahead, get started today on lowering the cost  of your utility bills you’ll be glad you did.