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Debt Relief: Difference between revisions
→Managing Your Credit
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*Apply for a [[Debt Relief:Definitions#secured card | secured card]] or deposit money in your checking account. | *Apply for a [[Debt Relief:Definitions#secured card | secured card]] or deposit money in your checking account. | ||
*Apply for a department store or gasoline credit card and build small balances, '''but pay them off in full each month'''. | *Apply for a department store or gasoline credit card and build small balances, '''but pay them off in full each month'''. | ||
*Do not use your | *Do not use your cre | ||
dit cards to purchase food. You will pay 10 times more in interest than what one meal would have cost if you had paid cash. | |||
*If possible, consider transferring the balance of your credit card to a lower interest rate card. If you do this, immediately destroy the card with the high rate and close the account. | *If possible, consider transferring the balance of your credit card to a lower interest rate card. If you do this, immediately destroy the card with the high rate and close the account. | ||
Over time, your credit score will improve, and you will qualify for [[Debt Relief:Definitions#unsecured credit card| unsecured credit]] cards on your own. | Over time, your credit score will improve, and you will qualify for [[Debt Relief:Definitions#unsecured credit card| unsecured credit]] cards on your own. | ||
For those who need assitance managing their credit there are a variety of choices and options out there. In an article by Hispanic magazine, financial author Julie Stav explains what a FICO score is, how credit bureaus calculate it, and steps on ways to improve your score. An article by U.S. News and World Report states the following steps to keep this score manageable: | |||
1.) Pay bills on time. | |||
2.) Pay down debt. | |||
3.) Maintain long-term credit relationships. | |||
4.) Do not apply for too many loans. | |||
A great self-help guide to consider is Repair Your Own Credit which instructs debtors how to repair their credit and how to reestablish credit. It also lists organizations that will either give people free assistance or charge a very low cost to help someone stay out of debt. In NEA Today, they also refer to some credit management agencies such as Equifax as well as warn people about credit repair clinic rip-offs saying they do not do anything that you cannot do yourself. The counselors at Credit U | |||
nion Magazine suggest that bankruptcy be the last resort in certain circumstances. | |||
==Credit Card Consolidation== | ==Credit Card Consolidation== | ||