Posted on 2016-07-16 02:07:54
Baby Boomers are retiring at the astounding rate of 10,000 per day. That far exceeds the retirement rate of any previous generation. Baby Boomers are also far exceeding previous generations with the amount of debt they are strapped with as they enter retirement. Let’s take a look at Baby Boomers entering retirement today.
See Your Credit Score Now
Keeping a Health Credit Score in Retirement As far as credit scores, Baby Boomers have done okay as a group—not quite as well as the Greatest Generation, but significantly better than younger generations. Hopefully Baby Boomers know that retirement is not the time to neglect your credit score! Your credit score will continue to drive the terms of any credit you may need—whether that is refinancing a mortgage at a lower interest rate, consolidating debt or paying for unexpected medical bills. Credit tips that are good for other ages continue to apply during retirement years:Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation.
Proven Results. (877) 882-2256
Posted on 2016-03-31 09:00:39
Back in the old days credit decisions were based on a relationship or a creditor’s feelings. Now, it’s your credit report. Creditors may look at your actual credit report or at the credit score calculated based on the information in your credit report. Either way, credit decisions are more black and white than they used to be. That makes an accurate credit report—one that is telling the right story—so important. A credit monitoring service can handle the challenging task of keeping tabs on that important financial document – your credit report.
Credit monitoring helps you maintain an accurate credit report.
The worst mistake on your credit report is the one you don’t know about. With credit monitoring you will know about important changes as they happen, putting you in a position to take swift action. Some of the activity a credit monitoring service looks for includes:
• New accounts opened
• New public records
• Changes to public records
• Changes to account information
• Inquiries to your credit file
• Address changes
Credit monitoring alerts you to signs of identity theft.
While credit monitoring cannot prevent identity theft (nor can anything else!), the kind of changes a credit monitoring service looks for on your credit report are the very things that could signal identity theft in progress. Credit monitoring puts time on your side when signs of identity theft show up on your credit report.
Posted on 2016-03-23 09:00:32
Sometimes adjust are like teenagers who think they know everything. But it’s amazing how misinformation even adults believe when it comes to credit. Here are five important things even you might not know about credit reports and credit scores.
1. Credit matters in more ways than you might think. Whether you are applying for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card, renting an apartment or getting cable TV, your credit matters. Your credit report can determine not only whether or not you get credit, but on what terms if you do. If your credit is bad, you may be denied credit or have to put down a larger deposit. That can take a bit out of your pocketbook! Credit is also used in surprising ways, such as by employers who may review your credit report as part of the application process.
2. Credit scores are based on the information in your credit report. The three national credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—store and organize the information reported to them by creditors and others. But your credit report does not include your credit score. Rather, your credit score is calculated based on the information in it at the time someone requests your credit score. It can change daily as the information in your credit report changes.
Posted on 2016-02-10 08:00:40
Where there is a will, there’s a way. That seems to be the mantra of identity thieves who come at identity theft from a new angle when something gets in their way. Such is the case with chip or EMV cards—credit and debit cards with an embedded microchip. What is an identity thief to do? One thing is certain. Identity thieves will adapt and find new ways to steal identities. But for now, time is on their side.
Magnetic Stripes vs Embedded Chips
Anyone who has used a credit or debit card is familiar with the magnetic stripe on the back of the card. The magnetic stripe contains information about the cardholder account. It didn’t take criminals long to figure out how to clone the magnetic stripes, and credit card fraud has been a huge problem ever since.
Chip cards are much harder to counterfeit. Each transaction encrypts different data. A clone of the card would be easily identified as a fake if it were used because the chip terminal would recognize the data from a previous transaction.
Millions of US cardholders have now received a new credit or debit card with an embedded chip. But what is still on the back? A magnetic stripe! That’s because it will take several more years for a full transition to chip technology. Until then some merchants cannot read cards without a magnetic stripe. Until those ubiquitous magnetic stripes are gone, the risk for identity theft from cloning a card is still strong. Some would even say the United States has become even more of a target for credit card identity theft because we are still in the transition stage while other countries have long moved on. The New Identity Theft Risk Identity thieves have a way of staying one step ahead of the latest technology, and they won’t give up because of chip technology. One new workaround may be opening new credit accounts instead of using an existing account for credit card fraud. Statistics seem to support this theory. Last year (2015) saw a noticeable decline in fraud to existing accounts and a rise in fraud from new accounts. What does this mean to consumers? Pay attention to your credit report! If you only check your credit report once a year, you could be in for a big surprise the next time you take a look. A credit monitoring service will check your credit report daily and notify you whenever a new account shows up on your credit report. Score one for the consumer!
Posted on 2016-02-02 08:00:34
Make 2016 the year to stay on top of your credit report. Your credit report—and the credit score calculated based on the information in it—affects many aspects of your life. The obvious is that creditors will check your credit report or credit score before making a decision on a credit application. The information in your credit report can not only affect a yes/no credit decision, but it can also affect the interest rate you will pay. Who wants to pay more in interest?
But the days of credit reports being strictly used for credit decisions are long gone. Today, many entities use credit reports to make decision including employers, landlords and insurance companies.