Finance Globe

If you know how credit scores are calculated, then you probably already know that applying for a credit card has the potential to impact to your credit score. But is the impact high enough to put off your credit card application for later? Inquiries are placed on your credit report whenever you make a credit-based application. In other words, if a business checks your credit report to process your application, then a record of that inquiry...

Year-after-year, the debt collection industry tops the FTC’s complaint list. In 2011, the FTC received 117,374 complaints against third-party debt collectors. The complaints the FTC receives may not represent the true number of debt collector complaints since consumers may not realize they can go to federal agency with these types of complaints. Many of those complaints fell within just a few categories. The biggest complaint category was with harassing phone calls. This includes collectors calling continuously,...

Most people realize that credit cards and loans affect their credit score. Even the occasional blemish from an unpaid utility bill won’t surprise many people. But who’d expect medical bills to affect credit scores? To clarify, not all medical bills will hurt your credit score. Particularly, if you receive a medical bill and you pay it off within a few days or weeks, your credit score is usually safe. However, unpaid medical bills that wind up...

While you can get a free credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, your credit score isn’t included in the deal. But, you may be entitled to a free credit score after certain credit and loan applications.Credit Score Disclosure Requirement Lenders are required to send credit score disclosure notice to all applicants who are denied credit or who are given unfavorable terms because of their credit score. That’s if your credit score was a factor in the decision. The...

Bankruptcy has a bad reputation for ruining lives. Truth be told, if you're considering bankruptcy, life may not be that great right, especially where your finances are concerned. But, bankruptcy's negative reputation might keep you from filing even though it could be the best solution for your debt. For some consumers, life is actually better after filing bankruptcy. Once you file bankruptcy, you’ll get an automatic stay from most collection activity. That means that many of...

Another bad thing about losing a great job is losing your benefits, especially your health benefits. Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy and losing your health insurance puts you at greater risk of problems with medical debt. It’s important that you remain insured, not just because of the risk of major medical bills, but also because a large gap in health insurance could be problematic when you try to get insured at...

A balance transfer can be a tricky transaction. You might start out fully intending to pay off the balance while you still have a great interest rate. But if you’re not careful, you could end up still owing a big balance after your promotional rate has expired. If you want to get rid of your transferred balance quickly and at the lowest cost, you’ll have to be diligent about paying off the balance and avoiding costly...

Few things are more embarrassing than having your credit card declined, but try not to overreact if it happens to you. Keep a cool head and try to figure out what’s going on.What to Do First Make sure you’re using the right card and that’s still valid. For example, if your credit card issuer recently sent you a new credit card, you may have gotten them mixed up. You could be using an expired card by...

Multiple payments, various interest rates, and different balances can make it difficult to pay off credit card debt. Not to mention the nuisance of juggling various due dates and payment amounts. Consolidating credit card balances can make debt repayment easier even if it’s just because you have one monthly payment instead of three or a dozen. How You Could Save With a Personal Loan Let’s say you have five credit cards with a combined balance of...

As a credit card user, having the right understanding of credit cards is necessary to stay out of credit card trouble. The credit card agreement doesn’t spell out responsible credit card use and unfortunately, many people learn these lessons the hard way. It’s not free money. Having available credit feels like you have extra money to spend. With $1,000 in your checking account and $2,000 credit limit, you might think you can spend $3,000. Technically, you...