Money Mistakes We All Make

There’s nothing wrong with making a mistake — even when it comes to your finances. However, it becomes a problem if you keep making the same missteps over and over again. Learning from these common money mistakes can prevent headaches and position you for a solid financial future.

Spending more than you earn. 

Millions of Americans live above their means and struggle financially throughout their lives. Getting your budget under control isn’t only about creating a solid plan from which to launch your financial future. Having enough money left at the end of the month to add to savings or pay off your debts can lift a huge psychological weight.

Often, correcting overspending is as simple as cutting back on nonessential expenses such as dining out, shopping or other entertainment. If you can learn to trim down impulse purchases, you can likely free up some needed cash at the end of the month to put toward long-term financial goals. 

However, if you’re struggling to keep up with your budget and have already cut out all the extra spending you can, it may be time to look into more far-reaching solutions. For example, you might be able to renegotiate certain services such as cable and internet, or reach out to your lenders about altering the terms of your monthly debt payments.

Putting off financial planning.

The problem with the “I’ll get to it later” philosophy is that by the time you do get around to it, you may have missed some financial planning opportunities or made things more difficult for yourself. Putting off your financial chores only means that the to-do list grows ever longer, and when it comes to time-sensitive things like retirement planning or paying off debt, delaying the process could cost you more money in the long run.

To keep procrastination at bay, try breaking your finances into bite-size pieces that are more manageable. You don’t need to get your finances in order overnight, but ignoring your to-do list doesn’t make it go away. Try setting aside time once a week or even once a month to check in on your finances and accomplish important goals.

Failing to save for emergencies.

 

Almost 60 percent of Americans don’t have enough money in their savings account to pay for an unexpected $1,000 expense such as a sudden car repair or surprise medical bill. Millions of people are without a safety net, and even one accident could be devastating to their finances.

It’s generally recommended to have enough cash set aside to cover all of your family’s expenses for three to six months. A good rule of thumb is to save 10 percent of your net income. If that amount seems impossible in light of your monthly expenses, try starting with 5 percent and increase that amount by 1 percent each month until you’ve reached the 10 percent threshold.

Postponing retirement saving until later in life.

 

Many Millennial and Gen Z workers entered the job market more concerned with paying off their student loans than saving for retirement. Age 65 can seem like a long way off, especially to someone in their early 20s, but money saved early will grow into a much larger nest egg as the years pass.

 
For example, if you have an IRA with a 6 percent annual return, and you start contributing $2,000 per year into that account at age 25, you’ll have a total value of $328,095 at age 65 from your $80,000 investment (40 x $2.000). 

If you wait just five years and start your $2,000 annual contribution at age 30, you’ll end up with only $236,242 from an investment of $70,000 (35 x $2,000). If you have the income available, it’s never too early to start saving.

Taking a long time to pay off your high-interest debt.

 

It’s hard to save when you’re in considerable debt — especially if you’re losing money every month to high interest rates. If you’re juggling multiple debts that all need your attention, it’s difficult to know where to prioritize. But paying off debts with high interest rates is often a great strategy that can save you money in the long run.

• To start digging out, begin by paying off your debt with the highest interest rate, which will often be a credit card account. 

• If you have the cash on hand, pay off everything that isn’t tax-deductible. For example, say you have $5,000 stashed away that’s earning only 2 percent interest. That money would be put to far better use to pay off your credit card debts.

Always buying new cars without considering used options.

 

The minute you drive a new car off the lot, its value drops by as much as 25 percent. If you need a new set of wheels, consider a used car. Buying used means the depreciation has already come out of the previous owner’s pocket – not yours. 

• The loss of value in a car is far less from years three to six than from years one to three, which means you’ll get more of your money back when the time comes to sell the car.

Not buying enough insurance coverage.

 

Having the right insurance — including medical, automobile, homeowners, long-term care, life and disability — is key to good financial planning. While it can be difficult to figure out the kinds of insurance and the amount of coverage you may need, not having the right balance of insurance can be disastrous if you’re hit with an unexpected expense.

It’s a good idea to review your insurance coverage each year and determine which policies you may or may not need based on any major life events you’ve experienced. 

For example, if you’ve purchased a newer, more expensive car, it’s time to reevaluate your auto insurance. If you’ve recently gotten married or added a baby to your household, it may be time to take a look at your health insurance. 

If you’ve completed a major, value-adding home remodel, it’s probably a good idea to increase your homeowner’s insurance. It’s not enough to have just any old insurance coverage in place; you need to make sure the insurance you’ve bought will cover the full value of your growing assets.

Not monitoring your credit scores and credit reports.

 

Credit scores can affect you in many ways — from borrowing money, to buying a home and even renting an apartment — so it's important to see a credit score similar to what a potential lender may see. 

You can easily check your credit profile with each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, and then work with your lenders to correct any problems or errors that you discover. By law you are entitled to a free credit report from agency credit bureau once a year. You can get yours at freecreditreport.com

Lacking an investment strategy, or not sticking to one.

 

If you invest in stocks or mutual funds as part of your savings plan, it’s important to have a strategy for that money. Too many people let their emotions get in the way and end up buying or selling on impulse. 

Another common misstep is spending too much time and effort trying to time the market, hunting for the “big payoff” or chasing the investment of the month (or week or day). Instead, you need to decide on a strategy and stick to your plan.

Not having a will.

Suppose the worst were to happen and you die tomorrow. Would your loved ones be provided for? If you pass away without a will, a court will determine who gets what based your state’s laws.

However, when you prepare a will, you’re creating a legal document that clearly defines what you want to happen to your money and other assets after you’re gone. While no one likes to think about their own death, having a will in place not only makes your wishes known but also can reduce the stress of your surviving loved ones who are already facing a difficult time.

Chances are, you’ve made at least one of these mistakes throughout the process of managing your finances — and that’s okay. The key is to identify and understand financial missteps so that you can do your best to prevent them moving forward.

Planning for a Credit Worthy Future

 

Credit seems like a complicated fickle thing when you don’t understand it. There are many unforeseen and preventable things that can come about and bite you in the rear leaving you in a credit mess when you are not aware of the ground rules to good credit. 

The best way to avoid those messes or recover after coming out of a financial mess is to plan your financial future and set some boundaries for yourself for a better, more solid financial future.

Planning for your future can look like a lot of things and should involve many different aspects, like living within your means, things you want to accomplish financially, what you want out of your future credit, how you will build and maintain your credit and how you will set guidelines for yourself to avoid making common credit and financial mistakes. This blog post will briefly touch on each one of these to offer readers, regardless of age and current situation some insight into how to plan ahead for a credit-worthy future.

Living Within Your Means

What does this mean exactly, well it means not spending more than what you make each month. This is one of the hardest things for most American families to do, especially when your household expenses exceed your income. 

Ideally, you need to be able to pay all your bills on time each month and still be able to buy amenities like food and clothing, while also putting aside 20% to 30% of your income for savings. To live within your means can be making choices between eating out or learning to cook and eat home cooked meals most of the time, including taking lunch to work from home. 

There are lots of ways to creatively shrink your monthly expenses and live within your means.

What Do You Want to Accomplish Financially?

This is a big part of living within your means, because if you are just distraught over the situation and want to have more luxuries in life, then you simply need to earn more money. You should look at the life you would like to live and then estimate what it would take monthly to make that life happen.

Put together a plan to meet those needs before you start living that way. That could be as simple as seeking out additional training in your industry, working towards a job promotion or asking for a raise, changing jobs or taking a second job. The important thing is to always stay within your current means, even if you are looking for a way to increase your income. 

Until you are making that higher income, it is not available to you.

What Do You Want Out of Your Future Credit?

Most will answer buy a house, buy a car, vacations, college for the kids and retirement. These are all valid reasons and should be part of your goals depending on your family and personal situation, but all these things and many like them require decent to good credit and some careful planning to obtain in a secure, responsible way.

Think about the types of things you want in these areas and speak with professionals in those industries to get a clear picture of what it would look like on paper. This will give you a realistic look at what it takes to get both your credit and savings healthy enough to help you afford and finance the things you want. 

Build and Maintain Your Credit

To build and maintain a good credit score you need to stick with the guidelines surrounding the living within your means section and that also includes paying your bills on time consistently month after month, year after year.

This is not always possible but it's what everyone should strive towards. If you have setbacks beyond your control in this area you should work towards getting back on track as quickly as possible building and maintaining good credit because bad credit also increases the interest rates you pay for credit and insurance!

Set Guidelines for Yourself

It’s important to set some spending rules and good habits for yourself. Don’t completely deprive yourself because that will only lead to failure and can have catastrophic results for your finances and future. Instead, set some ground rules with occasional indulgences and stick money aside in savings for the big rewards.

•  Smart money practices will always win out over excess in the long run.

MyCreditSystem is not just a DIY credit repair system for those already in trouble it is a Credit Education Program that helps you repair your credit yourself and also empowers you with the knowledge to keep a good credit score and maintain your credit rating. 

It's a great gift for High School Seniors and College Students so that they learn early one how to avoid the pitfalls of credit recklessness and also how to get out of it if they need to. They can also build a business around it! Who knows maybe your teenager or young adult is the one that fixes everyone's credit in the family or your neighborhood?

To learn how you, your teenager or young adult can build their own business helping their friends and family fix their credit sit with them and watch this video  
 

7 Credit Score Destroyers

Your credit score not only determines whether or not you can  get credit cards, cell phones, utilities, a rental apartment, auto loan, auto insurance and even job security clearance or the job itself and a mortgage to buy a home, it’s also a critical factor in determining the interest rates you have attached to all those items. 

A low credit score can cost you a lot of money over your lifetime.

Not everyone is aware of the many factors that determine a credit score. It’s easy to make assumptions that seem logical but are actually false. Acting on incorrect information is a sure way to make critical mistakes.

Save yourself money and make your financial life easier by avoiding these seven credit destroyers:

 1.     Carrying a big balance on your credit cards. While having a lot of debt is never a good idea, using more than 30% of the available credit on your credit cards hurts your credit score.

• For example, if your credit limit is $10,000, your score drops if your balance is over $3,000. This is commonly referred to as the “utilization ratio.” Keep your credit utilization to no higher than 30% of your available credit limit.

2.     Paying late is a huge factor in your credit score. Experts estimate that 35% of your credit score is determined by your payment history. Any late payments will lower your score.

3.     Closing credit cards is a credit score killer. This is related to your utilization ratio. By closing a credit card, you lower the amount of credit that’s available to you because your credit score is also sensitive to the length of your credit history.

4.     Defaulting is an obvious credit score mistake. When you fail to pay back a loan you owe to a lender, you can lose as much as 100 points from your credit score. Make every effort to pay back your loans and to do it on time.

• If you’re struggling making loan payments, no matter the type of loan, contact the lender and try to negotiate other payment arrangements. They can be very flexible if failing to do so means not getting their payments at all.

5.     Applying for too much credit. Everyone needs to have some credit but applying for too much credit does have a negative impact on your score.

• Each time you apply for more credit, your potential lender makes an inquiry of your credit history. 

• Each one of those inquiries lowers your credit score.

• Avoid accepting every credit card offer that shows up in your mailbox.

6.     Not having a credit card at all. Many people are getting rid of their credit cards in an effort to avoid debt. Unfortunately, this does nothing to help your credit score.

• Experts believe that the ideal credit score includes 2-3 credit cards. 

• Credit diversity can account for as much as 10% of your credit score.  

• Credit cards help to keep your credit history current. 

7.     Co-signing a lease or a loan for someone else can be a huge mistake because if they fail to make on time payments can destroy your credit score.

• When you co-sign a loan or lease you are equally responsible for that debt, so any late payments, defaults or even repossesions will show up on your own credit report as if they were yours.

• You can even be subject to collections and lawsuits. If a lender won’t do business with them, you might want to reconsider before co-signing.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can protect your credit score and a good credit score guarantees you the lowest interest rates. And don't worry even if your credit score is poor now it is possible to repair your credit and boost your credit score with a good DIY credit repair system. 

Give your credit score the amount of attention it deserves. It makes life a lot easier! If you or someone you know would like more information about MyCreditSystem click on the link. 

You can also follow me on Facebook 💙 Instagram   See You There!

8 Good Reasons to Use a Credit Card

 

Personal finance gurus spend a lot of time and energy attempting to prevent us from using credit cards, usually for very good reasons.

Credit cards are frequently abused and are the cause of a lot of personal debt. However, credit cards bring you a lot of advantages as long as you use them wisely. In fact, credit cards are frequently a better way to pay for things.

Consider these benefits:

1.) Sign-up bonuses. Many credit cards offer significant rewards when used responsibly. For example, consumers with good credit can be approved for credit cards that offer signup bonuses. These bonuses can be worth $50 to $250 or even more. Some credit cards provide reward points that can be used to redeem things like gift cards or airline tickets and much more!

2.) Cash back. With the right credit card, you can earn from 1-5% back on all your purchases. Depending on how much you use it, that can be like getting a raise at work!

3.) Investment rewards. Some credit cards, such as the Fidelity Investment Rewards Card, give a higher rate of cash back. However, that cash back must be deposited directly into an investment account. This is also nice because it encourages you to invest and save.

4.) Frequent-Flyer miles. Nearly every airline has at least one credit card offering. The ultimate value of these cards is really determined by the specifics of the card and the airline tickets you actually receive and use. The details can vary so shop around.

5.) Safety. Using a credit card makes it a lot easier to avoid financial losses due to fraud or unfortuna timing on automatic payments.

For example, if you pay your bills with automatic payments directly out of your checking account, these automatic drafts can also potentially result in insufficient funding fees and late payments, which will have a negative effect on your credit score.

If your debit card is used fraudulently, your money is taken out of your account instantly. It can also take some time to get your money back. By comparison, when your credit card is used fraudulently, you don't lose any money; you simply notify your credit card company and you don't have to pay for those transactions.

6.) Grace period. Credit card usage gives you time to pay, usually a couple of weeks on the average before any interest kicks in. With a debit card, the money is gone instantly. If you have your money in a high-interest checking account, the amount of interest you will earn can be significantly more over time by paying for your purchases with a credit card.

When you put your purchases on your credit card, your money will spend more time in your checking account, where it's earning money for you. If you use a debit card for your purchases, the money is in your account for a much shorter length of time, thus earning less interest. 

7.) Insurance. Most credit cards include a plethora of consumer protections that most people aren't aware of. This includes things like rental car insurance and travel insurance. Some product warranties are also made more advantageous when you pay for the item with your credit card. 

8.) BUILDING CREDIT

If you don't have a credit history or if you need to improve your score, a credit card can help raise your credit score. Obviously, this assumes that you use your card wisely. Debit cards do nothing to help your credit score.

As you can see, credit cards aren't bad provided you use them responsibly. In fact, credit cards have a lot to offer. So dust off that credit card and put it to good use; just be sure to pay it off in full every month or as close to it as you can to maintain a good credit score.

One Quick Way to Boost Your Credit Score

There are many different factors that go into your credit score, also known as FICO score. Your FICO score is calculated based on your credit report by a formula created by the Fair Isaac Corporation. However, FICO does not actually disclose its exact formula. 

Though nobody knows exactly how important each factor is in calculating the credit score, one known factor that plays a large role is your utilization rate. 

Your utilization rate is basically "how much of your available credit are you using?" 

The theory is that if someone has credit lines of $10,000 and they're using $9,500 of that credit, they're a much bigger credit risk than someone who's only using $1,000. Therefore, their credit score would be lower. 

However, there are a few things about the way FICO calculates your utilization rate that are a bit strange. One small loophole in particular can result in you being able to quickly boost your credit score without actually having to reduce your credit balances. 

The Odd Thing about Credit Utilization 

Rather than measuring your average utilization rate, FICO chooses to measure your score based on your highest utilization rate. 

For example, let's say you have two credit cards. Both of them have a $5,000 limit. One card is maxed out, while another card has a balance of zero. 

In this case, your maximum utilization rate would be 100%. In this case, your credit score will be severely negatively impacted. 

On the other hand, if you had distributed your credit balance half and half over the cards, your maximum utilization would be only 50% each. 

Another example would be if you had one card with a $1,000 limit and another card with a $5,000 limit. If you had to charge $800, it's a much better idea to charge it to the $5,000 card. 

A Few More Things to Know about Utilization Rate 

The ideal utilization rate is 35% or under on all your cards. Having even one card above 35% will drag your max utilization up. 

In an independent study of 70,000 different credit scores, researchers found that people with 720 or higher credit scores tended to have utilization rates of 20% or less. 

However, people who had a zero percent utilization rate often had very low credit scores. That's because their credit scores were so low, they couldn't even get a credit card. 

The ideal is not to have a zero percent utilization rate. If you're not using your credit cards at all, you're not demonstrating creditworthiness. Remember - creditors want to know that you'll pay off loans you take out, not that you don't take out loans. 

So try to get your utilization rate between 1% and 35%. If you have a low balance on one card and a high balance on the other, try balancing your cards out to get your maximum utilization rate down. This one technique can very quickly give you a credit boost, literally in just a few days.

The Easiest Way to Remove Bad Items from Your Credit Report

Did you know that it's possible to remove bad items from your credit report? Any inaccurate item showing up on your credit report that's damaging your credit can be removed, otherwise you have the right to sue the credit agency. 

Here's how to remove bad items from your credit report. 

1. Get a Report from All Three Agencies 

The first step is to get a credit report from all three credit reporting agencies. You can get your report once a year for free from annualcreditreport.com

Look through each and every one of your accounts carefully. Is there anything you don't recognize? Anything that's overstated or understated? 

Highlight any suspicious accounts. Note the account numbers and descriptions. 

Some bad items will appear on just one agency's report, while other errors will appear on all your credit reports. 

2, Beginning the Dispute Process 

Look for the dispute address of the credit agency you want to contact. It's usually on their website. Also look at their expected response times and policies for removing items. 

The FCRA states that they must respond within 30 days. If you don't get a response within 30 days, you may be eligible for a lawsuit and the item has to be removed from your credit file. 

Your dispute letter must illustrate exactly why you believe the account is erroneous and it also needs to list the exact account number(s) as it/they appear(s) on the credit report including the account description listed on the report.

MyCreditSystem gives you full access to a DYI Credit Repair / Credit Literacy Program including precise credit dispute letters and instructions for each case scenario to dispute credit report errors and/or remove collections, charge offs, medical collections, bankruptcy, repos, foreclosure, evictions and even student loans,

Be sure to be very clear about what you want them to do. For example, if the account exists but isn't actually delinquent, let them know that you want them to update the status to "Never Delinquent" rather than to remove the item because your credit history can be adversely affected by removing long standing accounts you have paid but have been late on.

3. The Next Steps  

One of three things will happen once you've sent in your dispute letter: 

• They respond and remove the item. In this case, no further action needs to be taken. 

• They respond and say that the item is not an error. They need to also provide documentation stating why this is the case, including the actual credit filing by the creditor.  

Look over the filing. Was this account opened by you? If not, you may have an identity theft and credit fraud issue on your hands. If it was, but is being incorrectly reported, you need to contact the creditor directly to work out the issue. 

• If they don't respond. In this case, you have certain rights, including at times the right to have the items removed or the right to a lawsuit. Consult a lawyer for specific rights in this case or use MyCreditSystem to save thousands of dollars and repair your own credit legally.

The whole process of disputing a report item should take no more than three hours each. Those three hours could result in your ability to open credit cards, your ability to buy a home or your ability to buy a car at much better rates. The choice is yours. Can you rely on someone else to do this for you immediately or are you going to take control of your credit repair timeline. 

The Advantages and Pitfalls of Credit Counseling

Credit counseling services receive a lot of mixed reviews. There are many reputable services, but there are also credit-counseling companies with horrible reputations. Credit counseling is now required before filing for bankruptcy. 

If you’d like help with your debt, be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of using a credit counseling company. 

Positive Features of Credit Counseling 

1. They tend to have more clout with creditors. Some creditors are more willing to negotiate pay-offs and payment plans with credit counselors. You might get a better deal and more breathing room with a credit counseling service.

2.    It’s possible to consolidate your payments. Many firms will consolidate your payments into one payment each month. You’ll be making a payment to the counseling company. Understand that the credit counseling firm must then make all the individual payments for you.

3.     It can be easier to get new credit. As part of your credit counseling, it’s common for new credit to be secured for you. They’ll go out and work to have your credit applications approved.

4.     An end to the harassment. When you’re put on a repayment plan, the debt collectors will leave you alone. Remember that you can do this yourself by simply making a request in writing. 

A reputable and honest credit counseling service can be helpful. There are many potential advantages to utilizing the expert assistance they can provide. But there are also several possible negative consequences. 

Pitfalls of Credit Counseling 

1.     They might not actually pay your bills. There are many complaints every year of credit counseling companies taking your money and then failing to make the agreed-upon payments to your creditors.

2.     They often over-promise. Just like any other company vying for your dollars, sometimes the marketing is a little too good to be true. After the counseling company takes their cut, you might not be any better off.

3.   It can possibly make your credit worse. There is one tactic commonly employed that can have a negative impact on your credit score. The credit counselor may advise you to stop paying on your debt and instead put the payments into an account. 

·   Once a large enough lump sum has been accumulated, the counselor would then approach your creditors with offers to pay off the debt at a reduced amount.

·       During this process your credit will suffer due to the non-payment.

·      The account used to store the money is under the control of the counseling firm. Do you trust them? 

The potential pitfalls are serious. It’s very important to do the necessary legwork to locate a reputable credit counseling service. 

Many consumers believe that a service with non-profit status must be reputable. Understand that being non-profit is primarily about not showing a profit at the end of the year. Paying bonuses and higher salaries can accomplish this feat. 

Ideally, you’ll be able to find a counseling service in your state that you can visit in person. Checking with your state Attorney General is an effective way to see if any complaints or legal action have taken place. Doing an online search is also likely to turn up any negative reviews or complaints. 

Inquire about the services offered and the fees. Ask how the employees are paid. Are they compensated more for signing you up for certain services? Get everything in writing. Verbal promises are likely to be conveniently forgotten. 

Credit counseling can be beneficial or counterproductive to your goals of reducing and eliminating your debt. Find a reputable credit-counseling firm by doing the necessary research. Be sure your financial situation will move in a positive direction. 

If you want to save hundreds or thousands of dollars and make sure your credit is repaired correctly you can do it yourself with a DYI Credit Repair System like MyCreditSystem it gives you access to a complete Financial Literacy Program and all the necessary template letters you will need to successfully fix your credit 

The Basics of Credit Clean Up

Credit can be a fickle thing and if you don’t know much about credit, your credit report or score and how credit works it can seem overwhelming to try and find ways to fix or clean it up.

As overwhelming as credit practices may seem there are ways to clean up your credit and plan for a better financial future with smarter spending and borrowing practices.

There are four main ways to clean up your credit and the more cohesively you use them together the better the result at the end. This article will briefly go through the four areas and how to take part in them. Through your research you are likely to come across more in-depth information that will play a part in working with the information provided here to give you the best results in cleaning up your credit.

The first way to start your journey toward better credit and a higher credit score is to review your credit report for errors, dispute and/or demand that all inaccuracies be removed immediately and any collections or accounts you do not recognize be validated. To do this you need to get all three of your current credit reports and lay them out in front of you. 

Take your time reviewing the credit reports and use different color highlighters to highlight all the accounts that are currently open and have a balance, collection accounts and credit report errors. Some of your the accounts are likely past due, while others may not be. To get a complete look at what you need to pay off, you need to color code and highlight them all. 

Remember NOT to include your monthly living expenses like utilities or rent that may be listed on your credit report. Highlight only the debt you need to get out from under, credit report errors and accounts you want to dispute or that need validation. Once you do that the next step to forming a debt pay off plan for your open accounts is to consider the highest balances or highest interest rates first since these are more harmful to your credit, though the smaller accounts may be easier to pay off. 

Remember, while you are paying off larger debts with larger payments, you must still maintain the minimum payments on monthly accounts and living expenses to keep from worsening your debt.

The next step in the credit cleanup process should be to consider the good accounts you have and work hard to keep them in positive standing. These accounts will help to steady and improve your credit when you get the "bad accounts" paid off or removed from your credit reports through disputes or debt validation. 

When you have paid off or removed "the bad" and past due accounts, you can consider adding a good or small account to keep in good standing, but don’t consider adding anything until you have dug yourself out of the hole you are currently in.

Next, you want to make sure you check over your credit report for errors at least once a year. This can happen by accident or through the presence of identity theft. Either way you need to find it and dispute it in a timely matter. 

Each credit reporting agency has their own dispute policies and procedures. Often times this information will print at the end of your credit report and should be readily available on the agency web sites as well however, never dispute anything on your credit report online. 

Always submit your credit disputes and debt validation requests it in writing via certified mail, return receipt requested so that you have proof of your dispute/debt validation requests so that the credit bureaus are obligated to follow through within the Federal and State Consumer Protection Laws.

When you dispute credit errors online you loose a lot of the protections and safeguards in place that benefit you!

The last and probably most important thing to consider when working to clean up your credit is to form and set up a plan for future financial success. You need to be able to handle money in a smart way and avoid getting back into the same situation or having to work so hard again. To do so you need to learn to live within your means and learn the difference between need and want. This can be especially hard if you’ve become accustomed to a certain standard of living or have friends with a higher standard of living than you can afford. 

You need to be honest with yourself and with others about the life you can currently have, this will help you be about to reach the life you want in the future. Realistic budgeting is a discipline that will take time to master but is essential to good credit and your financial future.

I have learned a lot about personal financial management and how to clean up my credit myselt thanks to   myCredit System - myEcon  membership which includes myCashFlowManager  it has been a game changer that opened the door to better credit and better personal financial management for me and my family. 

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Student Loans Forgiven

With the climbing cost of education, student loan debt is becoming a bigger burden with each graduating class. Luckily, however, there are a few ways to reduce, or even eliminate, your student loan debt. 

Consider these career strategies to shrink your student loan debt: 

1.     Join the military. Serve Uncle Sam and you can eliminate up to 100% of your student loans. The amount of forgiveness depends on the type of student loan and where you’re stationed. If you’re considering joining the military, speak to a recruiter and ask for more information.

2.     Become a nurse. Due to the demand for more nurses, nurses are eligible to receive 100% forgiveness for Federal Perkins Loans. Nurses also enjoy high salaries, especially considering that it only requires two years to learn become a registered nurse.

3.     Work with the disabled. Many organizations offer this student loan forgiveness program. If you provide early intervention services to the disabled, you may qualify for up to 100% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans. 

4.     Become a faculty member at a Tribal university. The government has labeled a few colleges and universities as tribal schools. These primarily serve Native Americans or Alaskan Natives. If you teach at one of these schools, you can have up to 100% of your Perkins Loan forgiven.

5.     Join the Peace Corp as a volunteer. You can have a great experience in a new country, help others, and reduce your student loan debt at the same time. You can earn up to 70% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans.

6.     Join AmeriCorps VISTA. This is similar to the Peace Corp, but serves challenged areas of the U.S. Again, loan forgiveness can be up to 70%. Perhaps not exotic as the Peace Corp, but you can potentially stay close to home.

7.     Become a teacher. There are many places in the U.S. in desperate need of teachers. Most of these areas serve lower-income neighborhoods. Teach for five years and you can eliminate up to $17,500 worth of Federal Stafford loans. However, Plus Loans are not eligible.

8.     Become an educator. This program is much broader than the program aimed solely at teachers, and will forgive up to 100% of Federal Perkins Loans. You can be a speech pathologist, school librarian, staff member at a pre-kindergarten program, or even a teacher. Other professions can also qualify.  

·       Depending on the position, you may have to work for a certain number of years or have an advanced degree.

9.     Become a firefighter. If you’ve considered becoming a firefighter, there’s good news. You can receive up to 100% forgiveness of your Federal Perkins Loans after serving a few years.

10. Become a police officer or corrections officer. The firefighter plan also applies to police officers and corrections officers.

Many career options offer partial or complete student loan forgiveness. There’s a common theme to these programs: you must be providing an important service to those in need. You can gain valuable experience and enjoy the knowledge that you’re helping to improve the lives of others while you get rid of your student loans.

You can also use the DYI Credit Repair Program Template Letters in MyCreditSystem to have most if not all your student loan debt wiped out. 

What to Look for in a Contract with a Credit Repair Agency

Your most important tool against bad credit repair deals is your credit repair contract. Before you sign any kind of contract with a credit repair agency, you need to make sure you're protected.  

Most contracts are written by the credit repair agency and are naturally written more for their benefit than yours. That said, if you know what to look for, you can make sure that everything you need is covered in the contract. 

Here are the most important clauses to look for in any credit repair contract. 

What They're Agreeing to Do 

• The contract should explicitly state exactly what the credit repair agency will do for you. 

For example, they might commit to sending X letters to X agencies to help you remove items from your report. They might agree to follow up with those companies, as well as to advise you on lawsuit opportunities. 

• If you're having them also take on a debt consolidation role, make sure you also cover all your bases there. The agreement should spell out explicitly how the consolidation process is handled and what kind of support you'll have during the process. 

The Cost Structure 

• The contract should contain details on how the program is priced. Any implied verbal guarantees should be written into the paperwork. There should be no additional costs that you don't understand, no fine print with extra fees. 

• Different credit repair agencies charge differently. Some require an upfront fee, others don't. Some charge a percentage of debt and some charge a flat fee. 

• If you're just having the repair agency remove items from your credit report for you, usually the payment will be made in the form of a "per item" fee. For example, an agency might charge $250 for each item they can remove from a credit report. 

Make sure you understand the cost structure and any additional costs before signing the paperwork. 

How Long before You Can Expect Results 

• The contract should have a set duration. Six months to one year is a good period of time for an extensive credit repair project. 

• If a contract doesn't have a set duration, make sure you have a crystal clear cancellation period. After all, if you've seen no results for six months, you want to make sure you can back out and find someone else to help you. 

These are some of the most important things you should look for in a credit repair contract. Before you sign anything, make sure you read over every line and fully comprehend everything you're signing. If the contract accurately represents everything that you talked about verbally and you believe it's a good deal for you, then sign the paperwork.