Your Credit Rating Is Important

By Steve Collins

Credit ratings, at their most simple, are personal debt histories. Credit ratings can haunt us for our entire life, providing a often worrying picture of our financial behavior. Lenders and credit card companies look to credit ratings for the most simple assessment of whether we are a good or bad risk. But what kind of information does a credit rating contain?

For starters, credit ratings contain all the vital personal information you would expect them to have, such as full name, address and social security number. Any debt you owe will be added to your credit report. Credit ratings contain every store credit card you carry, their maximum limit and how close you are to reaching that limit. Payment history is included as well.

An unsoiled credit report will show no late payments, few applications for new credit or loans and low balances on existing credit cards. Excellent credit ratings win a higher rate of approval and lower interest rates with banks and credit card companies.

Negative comments, past foreclosures and bankruptcies obviously do not look good on credit ratings. Credit ratings carry negative information for a long time. Late payments, for instance, remain on your credit rating for 7 years. Bankruptcies can stay on for 10 years. Frequent loan and credit applications are also harmful. It pays to keep a good financial profile. You can help yourself by checking your credit report frequently. Credit ratings sometimes contain information that is out of date, such as your maiden name instead of your married name or an old address. Negative errors can occur, too. These need to be found well before you apply for credit or loans. Credit ratings can take weeks, even months, to correct.

In high school, kids make jokes about what goes on their permanent record. Credit ratings are permanent records that are no laughing matter. You should make it a point to know what is in your credit ratings.

About the Author:

Steve Collins is an author and journalist. In these trying times, he knows the importance of obtaining effective credit card debt solutions if necessary. Read his article about credit card debt solutions here.

Your Credit Rating Is Important

By Steve Collins

Credit ratings, at their most straightforward, are personal debt histories. Credit ratings can haunt us for our entire life, providing a often worrying picture of our financial behavior. Lenders and credit card companies look to credit ratings for the most simple assessment of whether we are a good or bad risk. But what kind of information does a credit rating contain?

For starters, credit ratings contain all the vital personal information you would expect them to have, such as full name, address and social security number. Any debt you owe will be added to your credit report. Credit ratings contain every store credit card you carry, their maximum limit and how close you are to attaining that limit. Payment history is included as well.

An unsoiled credit report will show no late payments, few applications for new credit or loans and low balances on existing credit cards. Good credit ratings win a higher rate of approval and lower interest rates with banks and credit card companies.

Negative comments, past foreclosures and bankruptcies obviously do not look good on credit ratings. Credit ratings carry negative information for a long time. Late payments, for instance, remain on your credit rating for 7 years. Bankruptcies can stay on for 10 years. Frequent loan and credit applications are also damaging. It pays to keep a good financial profile. You can help yourself by checking your credit report yearly. Credit ratings sometimes contain information that is out of date, such as your maiden name instead of your married name or an old address. Negative errors can occur, too. These need to be found well before you apply for credit or loans. Credit ratings can take weeks, even months, to correct.

In high school, children joke about what goes on their permanent record. Credit ratings are permanent records that are no laughing matter. You should make it a point to know what is in your credit ratings.

About the Author:

Steve Collins is a writer and journalist. In these trying times, he knows the importance of obtaining effective credit card debt solutions if necessary. Read his article about credit card debt solutions here.

Top 3 Business Mistakes that Kill your Profit

By Susan Carter

You've probably wished many times that you knew ahead of time how to avoid the mistakes that are going to cost you money. When it comes to your business, these can be so costly that you may lose thousands of dollars if you make them. My goal is to help you avoid some of the important ones so that you stay on the right track to making money, instead of losing money.

1. Not setting up your business in the correct Business Structure. Many individuals dont think they need to set up their company as a legal business entity because it's only them working. They dont consider it an issue when they combine their business accounts with their personal accounts. Unfortunately, this combining of funds and expenses can cause a huge crisis for the business owner. However, by keeping their business activity separate from their personal activity, they are presenting to the tax collectors a clear picture that they are acting as a business and not as a hobby.

Always keep in mind that a loan to an individual is considered a personal loan - and its reported to the personal credit bureaus. However, a loan to a corporation, partnership or LLC, is reported to the business credit bureaus " if they have used their EIN on their application. Personal FICO scores are, therefore, not affected (if there is no personal guarantee on the loan). A business will look more professional in the eyes of a lender or bank if they are set up as a business entity. This is critical in the business world.

2. Not presenting your business as established and in working order. This means that your business has its own address and phone number. It is very important that your business is listed in the national 411 directory. Many people run their business using a cell phone number as their business phone number. However, a cell phone number is not acceptable for most financial institutions. When you apply for a loan or line of credit, the lender will call 411 to verify that you are an established business with a specific address and phone number. Lenders also do not want to see P.O. boxes or UPS addresses. They want a real, physical address. The address listed in the 411 directory must match the address listed with the State because the financial institutions will go online and verify your business information with the State. If they do not find a match, you may be denied business credit.

3. Not checking your credit report. You know how important it is to check your personal credit reports regularly, but its also important that you check your business credit. Have you noticed that when you are a new business and you try to apply for business credit, financial institutions generally ask for a personal guarantee before extending business credit to your company? You may lose your ability to get that business credit if negative data appears on your personal credit report. This is true for business as well. You may be denied credit if false or inaccurate information is reported to D&B (the most well known business credit agency). Lenders look for businesses that are a good credit risk and dont want to work with businesses with poor creditworthiness. It is most important that personal and business credit is reported accurately with all the credit agencies.

About the Author:

Find out more about setting up your business structure correctly, and learn more tips to present your company to the world as being well established. Get the information you need so you can obtain lines of credit and vendor credit cards for your business without putting your personal credit at risk.

Variable Rate vs Fixed Rate Student Loans

By William Blake

Variable vs Fixed

As of July 1, 2006 Stafford loans became fixed rate loans. This was not a new idea. Years ago all Stafford loans had a fixed interest rate. In time the structure changed and they became variable rate loans. Now they have again taken their original structure.

Some lenders make up for what they loose in interest rates by charging fees. In general 3% fees charged on a loan is the same as a point of interest. Therefore, if they keep to the restrictions on the interest rate yet charge you a loan origination fee or loan insurance then they recover what they are missing in interest payments right up front. Some lenders are willing to extend credit and waive the customary fees.

Rates and Interest Amounts

The interest rate on loans has risen greatly over the past few years. The PLUS student loan has gone up from 6% to 8.5%. That makes this loan quite a bit more expensive than before. 2.5% interest increase means that you loan is going to cost you hundreds of dollars more a year than it would at the lower interest rate.

You can visit www.bankrate.com/brm/mortgage-calculator.asp to see exactly how much your loan will cost you at a given interest rate.

The Future

Financial advisors have a difficult time trying to determine where interest rates are going. It is a good guess at best. There is really no way to be certain how much your interest rate will vary over time. For students and their parents seeking student loans their only option is to base their choices on what the financial advisors are saying and hope for the best.

Follow The Leaders

Among the easier ways to follow those predictions is to look at various interest-bearing financial instruments, such as T-Bills or long-term corporate bonds. By examining those numbers, potential borrowers can get the best available guess about where interest rates are headed. That information is easily gained from any finance website, such as Yahoo Finance or some other personal favorite.

Looking at the 30-year Treasury bill, for example, shows two things: what the government is offering to sell debt for projected out over 30 years, and what the buyers of that debt are willing to pay. As that rate varies, most other long-term rates, such as student loan rates, will vary similarly (though not always exactly).

About the Author:

Are debt consolidation non profit services the best way to consolidate your debt? Not always. Find out why at the Inside Debt Consolidation website at http://www.insidedebtconsolidation.com

Memphis Home

By W. Kim

It does not matter whether you are trying to sell a house in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Memphis or Louisville there are certain things which can lead to a sale not happening. If you are able to identify what the problems when trying to sell your Louisville home you will be able to rectify them. Knowing some of the mistakes such as the ones we mention below can help to make your home sell a lot quicker and easier.

Mistake 1 - A house that smells bad is going to put off any potential buyer. If you own pets or smoke the odors produced by these need to be removed as soon as you possibly can. Don't just think spraying the room just before a viewing with air freshener is going to disguise them. In fact your furniture and furnishings will be full of these odors, so you need to arrange to get them cleaned correctly prior to the viewings commencing.

Mistake 2 - Many people will try to be very persuasive when others come to view their home especially when the market is full of similar properties. But if you are trying to hard this can cause a potential buyer to back away from yours. Instead allow them the room to wander around and get a feel for the property on their own. Doing this they are able to see more easily if they will be able to live in the property comfortably once you have vacated it.

Mistake 3 - A lot of people who own pets when selling their homes will tend to allow them free rein when viewings take place. However, it is far better if you arrange for yours to be kept somewhere else during viewings say with a friend or neighbor. The other thing to do is limit them to one specific area of the house or place them in a dog crate until the viewings have been completed. You need to remember that not all potential buyers of your home are going to be animal lovers like you.

Mistake 4 - Many people when trying to sell their home will put off getting any minor works carried out. If you have leaking taps or a blocked drain or gutter arrange to have these problems rectified. Although the work may cost you a little bit of money it could end up ensuring that you get the price you want when you sell. Many potential buyers will often be put off if a property is not in a good state of repair and will have to spend money on making it habitable for them.

About the Author:

Mistakes to avoid when selling a Louisville Home, please review Louisville Home, and Louisville Home

Debt Management Programs Destroy Your Credit Rating

By Amy Nutt

A debt counselling company is where an individual turns when they feel too overwhelmed by their debt. They are looking to debt management because they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth or they have already fallen off the wagon. They can't make their payments with their current income, so they have to find something other than bankruptcy that can relieve the issue.

When they turn to debt management, they may find that there are a number of services that are offered. The first of those programs is debt consolidation. This involves taking out a loan that consolidates all unsecured debt into one payment. For example, unsecured personal loans and credit cards can be combined. The interest rate can be lower and the payment can be lower than what all of the separate payments were before.

However, you have to be careful because this can have an impact on your credit rating in a number of ways. It is true that the idea behind debt consolidation is to keep your credit rating in tact, but you have to keep some things in mind.

Your credit rating

When it comes to debt consolidation, some people make the mistake of closing their accounts. It is actually not wise to close accounts for the fact that this lowers the amount of available credit that you have to your name. One of the things that contribute to your credit score is how much of your available credit you are using. If you have open accounts with balances of $0, that will have a positive impact. However, if you close your accounts and you have a debt consolidation loan that has no available credit, this can be harmful to your credit score.

Even if you're not using debt consolidation and you are using another type of debt management, there may be a negative impact on your credit score. For example, you may not be able to take out a debt consolidation loan, so you need a debt management company to negotiate lower interest rates and a lower payment with your creditors. They may also be able to lower the amount of the debt. When this is done, this can affect your credit score negatively.

How does it help?

However, the repercussions that come with debt management are much less than that of bankruptcy. The consequences of debt management may last a period of three years, but bankruptcy can last ten years or more. So this is something that you should weigh when looking for a way to get out of your financial situation.

As for the benefits that you will experience in the present time, you will find that you will have more money in your pocket. Better yet, you can take that money and deposit it within a savings account. That way when you get back on your feet after your debt management program, you are able to have money in the bank that can help you out of a tough situation later on.

Nevertheless, you will have to work on building your credit back up after a debt management program. This means you'll have to use your credit and make on-time payments. This is one reason why you don't want to close accounts. You can take an existing account, charge a little on it, and then pay it off before your due date each month. This will allow the creditor to report positive marks on your credit report. This will also raise your score. Most of all, having to go through a debt management program can help you learn a very valuable lesson. After that, you shouldn't find yourself having credit problems again.

About the Author:

Credit Counseling service teaches consumers how to budget, get out of debt, and use credit wisely. When looking for free debt and budget analysis, consider Consolidated Credit Canada.

Pittsburgh Home

By Won Kim

It is important in order to find the best real estate agent you do some research beforehand whether you are going to be buying or selling a property. Certainly when it comes to selling say a Pittsburgh home you need to know everything you can about the selling process. Just what kind of marketing strategy does the agent use, what type of advertising is done and how much knowledge do they have about the market.

You should never go with an agent simply because they quote a sale price above what others have quoted to you. You should never forget that the person who is going to be potentially buying your home is someone that won't pay more than they feel it is worth. Certainly any sensible buyer especially with the current financial situation is going to do some research first. They will look at what prices Pittsburgh homes similar to yours are actually selling for.

So it is important that you just like any person who may consider buying your Pittsburgh home you do your homework first. It is crucial you do some research into the various agents in your area and create a shortlist of those you are thinking of using. When you want to look more closely at them there are certain questions you should be asking and below we look at what these should be.

1. Find out just how many homes that they have listed and how many they have sold in the previous six months. It is best that you choose those agents who have homes similar to yours on their books. If they are unable to provide you with details of the properties that they have sold then move on to the next one on the list you have made.

2. Find out how long they are taking to sell Pittsburgh homes. Just because they are selling homes in a quicker time period it does not mean that the market is good. The reason that they may be selling properties quickly is that they are doing so well below the price quoted. So again you need to look closely at what price was being asked for the property and what it actually sold for. Ideally you want an agent who is able to sell your property quickly, but close to the asking price you want for it.

3. Look at how long they have been running their business for and if they are members of any particular real estate organizations. Some agents may the appropriate licenses but may well only choose to run their business on a part time basis. Unfortunately some of these agents are unlikely to want to put in the time and effort needed to sell your Pittsburgh home for you. Rather it may be much wiser for you to go with a full time agent who has only held their license for say 2 years. These will put in the effort and time to ensure that your property is correctly marketed and you get close to the price you are asking for it in the quickest time possible.

About the Author:

For best advice on selling Pittsburgh Home, please review Pittsburgh Home, and Pittsburgh Home

Making Money Understanding Options Spreads.

By Walter Fox

Yes, a professional non-market day trader with stock options and stock options for the swing I understand you have the option to use the spread in the wild days of confusion can make money. While I work in the office almost every day because I am always the possibility of normal to do what I do.

While my "hold and keep" stock portfolio has suffered during the recent plunging market, I have been able to soften the blow my making some very nice huge percentage gains in my stock option trading account on almost a daily basis.

While my success my stock option trading strategy can not be denied that professional traders may seem naive. I% 40 days of wild market swings of a day on an average have made. The wild market, while I share the average time from his office said the businessman could be a great option strategy that is continuing.

This is how I have been able to make some very significant money trading in the options world. First I only trade 2 stocks in my options trading account. The reason being that since I am doing this while I doing my normal job I dont have time to really follow more stocks. As one really needs to understand the stock, almost be at one with it so you know how it will react when the market plunges or skyrockets. To understand the stock I study how it reacts to the extreme market activity with in its trading range. As an example lets say I am trading a stock A. I need to understand that when the market plunges 200 points "A" usualy goes down lets say 2% or 3 % and whne the stock market goes down 500 points it usually goes down lets say 5 to 7% and then does about the same to the countering up moves in the market. I dont really care about earnings etc but I make sure my 2 stocks are not carrying any special baggage that would influence their movement outside of the market swings ie. the bank stocks etc.

Once I stock my 2 how these studies range.Lets market trading activity will reflect the understanding that these swings between 63 and 57 during the stock trades at roughly. So I would say this is a study of options is 57.50, or 60. I really in the last month that these options is very small at dose learned. One of the options I could buy a small number of examples, as he said, only 100 company and I am a business makes a fortune on 5 for a full day options. I value my buy or sell is duly noted as'm happy to see that high or low dose 5 options with my one. Although the bid is a very real importance to understand and must be careful when you ask spread your options trading strategies are developing. The spread of small or market price as the previous business with nothing to do well or drowned last price soared way past activity can be.

As for the choice I like my stock options, I basically use of communication options, there is a deadline for at least a week, feel more comfotable in a month. I would also like to make a call or put option is a little money. If the significance of the low-end stock tading activities can be said to be 58 years old, I usually buy the 57.50 call.

I may be completely innocent or lucky, but I found the stock options market trading on the basis of my approach gave me an opportunity or 2 days have strategy.The to play the key if you want to really understand the stock is Player of the large-scale campaign in response to the general market.

In summary I let the market drive the stock price down or up on 2 stocks that I follow very closely. When the market drive the price of the stock either up or down dramatically I then trade the option based on the stocks trading range that I have developed by watching the stock and its reactions to huge moves in the market. This has worked nicely for me but one must be able to have a computer with real time stock market access to alert one to the market moves.

About the Author:

TheScienceOfTrading.com provides 90 free minutes of videos on option trading systems and provides a complete and detailed stock trading education for beginners to experts.