Credit Resilience: How to Rebound from a Bad Credit Report
Discover tips on how to recover from a bad credit report and improve your credit resilience, making it easier to secure loans and financial deals.
FICO score
Here you’ll find articles that explain what a FICO score is and how it applies to your finances and ability to obtain a loan.
How to Boost Your FICO and VantageScores
Learn the secrets to boosting your FICO and Vantage Scores for better credit opportunities, and unlock financial success in under 160 characters.
VantageScore vs FICO: Which Score Impacts Your Mortgage Approval?
In an era where credit scores are essential to secure loans, mortgages, or even lease apartments, understanding and managing your scores is crucial. Two of the most popular credit scoring models used to gauge your creditworthiness are the FICO score and the VantageScore. This article compares these models, their similarities and differences, and factors affecting …
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Video: Credit Score Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs
Some credit score mistakes can be real credit killers. You might not think that seemingly innocent actions can cause your FICO score to plunge, but that can certainly happen. Here are two horrible credit mistakes you want to avoid at all costs – unless you want to send your credit score heading south. Watch this …
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How to Increase Your Credit Score While Still in School
A reader of AskTheMoneyCoach.com wanted to know how to increase her credit score while she is still in school. She wrote me saying: “Hello, Lynnette. I’m a 60‑year‑old woman who has returned to school. I’ve taken out federal loans in the amount of $8,000. The loans have been deferred for as long as I remain in …
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What is the Difference Between the Equifax Credit Score and the FICO Score?
If you’ve ordered your credit report and credit score recently, or want to learn more about your credit standing, you may be wondering about the difference between your Equifax Credit Score and your FICO Score. Both of these scores are general-purpose score models that can tell someone – either a lender or even you – …
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3 Red Flags that Could Be on Your Credit Report
You know how important it is to check your credit report at least once per year, but do you know what to look for? Your credit report contains a lot of key information about your payment history, various credit accounts you’ve had, and how you’ve handled financial obligations such as credit card debts, mortgages, student …
Will Debt Settlement Appear On My Credit Report?
Q: Hi, I have rec’d an offer of settlement from a collection agency representing CitiCard for about 18% of the current balance. When I asked to have the “line item” (delinquency) deleted from my record (credit report), the manager responded that: 1) it can’t be done; 2)maybe it could be done but only with a …
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What is a Credit Score?
A credit score is simply a three-digit number that summarizes your overall credit standing and tells creditors how likely you are to either repay a debt or default on it. A credit score is calculated based on the underlying information that is contained in your credit reports. But a credit score is not automatically included …
Why Your Credit Report and Credit Score are as Financially Important as Your College Degree
If you went to college, no doubt you tracked your grades carefully throughout school. But if you’re currently a working professional, or are looking for a job, you now have another important report card to pay attention to: your credit rating. Simply put, having perfect credit is just as financially beneficial to you as is …
Differences In Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Credit Reports
If you’ve ever pulled your credit files from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – each of the three major credit bureaus- and tried to compare them, you know that certain information in your credit records likely to be different. But did you also realize that the manner in which the credit bureaus present your credit data …
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Fact Versus Fiction About Credit Scores
FICTION: If I check my credit report often, all those “inquiries” will lower my credit score.
Will a Collection Account for Just $50 Hurt My Credit?
Fortunately, there is one recent change to the world of credit scoring concerning small debts, which are sometimes called “nuisance” collection accounts. In August 2009, Fair Isaac rolled out to all three credit bureaus its newest general-purposeFICO score, dubbed FICO 08. With this new version of the credit score, FICO says its will disregard collection …
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How Do I Establish My First FICO Score?
Your FICO credit scores – like all credit scores – are based on the underlying data and information that is contained in your credit files with the “Big 3” credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. According to Fair Isaac, the company that created the three-digit FICO scores (which range from 300 to 850 points), in order to have a FICO score generated for you, your credit history must contain at least three things:
Do I Need My Plus Score or Just My FICO Score?
In addition to your FICO credit scores, you should also get your Experian PLUS score. In recent years, consumers got all three FICO scores – based on their TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian reports. But as of 2009, you can now only get two FICO scores (based on what’s in your Equifax and TransUnion files). You can no longer get an Experian-based FICO score. So what should you do to get a score based on all three credit files? My recommendation is to get your third credit score directly from Experian via its www.creditexpert.com consumer website. This score is known as your Experian PLUS Score.