Credit Monitoring for Baby Boomers

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.

• Nearly half of today’s retirees retire with debt.
• About two thirds of those near retirement age expect to have a mortgage when they retire.
• About 40% of those near retirement age expect to be paying on credit card debt during their retirement years.
• Nearly 60% of Baby Boomers are providing financial support to their adult children. Many co-signed on student loans, auto loans or even mortgages, and are finding they are responsible for these debts.

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:

• Pay bills on time every time.
• Keep credit card closing balances below 25% of their account limit—even if you pay them in full each month.
• Maintain an accurate credit report. No one knows better than you if the information on your credit report is accurate.

Baby Boomers also need to be aware that seniors are often targeted for identity theft because they often have established a good credit history. It makes good sense to keep an eye on your credit report during your retirement years because that is often the first place where signs of identity theft show up. MyFreeScoreNow’s credit monitoring service checks your credit report daily for significant changes that should be verified by you including:

• New credit accounts opened.
• Change in credit accounts such as late payments
• Address and employment changes
• New inquires to your credit file
• Public records such as liens and bankruptcies

Retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy life a little. Treat yourself to credit monitoring so there is one less thing to worry about.

Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation.

Proven Results. (877) 882-2256 

5-Minute Guide to Credit Monitoring

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.

See Your Credit Score Now Credit monitoring alerts you to who has viewed your report. Creditors, employers, landlords and other business entities may have a legal and legitimate right to view your credit report. And you have a right to know when they do. Those looks, called inquiries, can have a negative impact on your credit and credit score. Credit monitoring alerts you whenever a hard inquiry that could impact your credit score is added to your credit report. Credit monitoring is convenient. Credit monitoring helps you keep a watchful eye on your credit. While ordering credit reports throughout the year is better than nothing, it offers limited protection because your credit report is a snapshot of your credit at a particular moment in time. A credit monitoring service is on call every day. It frees you up to go about your life without neglecting your credit report. Credit monitoring can save you money. Sure, there’s a cost to credit monitoring. But when that is weighed against the benefit of having an accurate credit report, it could save you money. Even minor credit report errors can be enough to bump you into a higher interest rate tier that could affect your payments for years. An accurate credit report is important to ensure you aren’t paying for someone else’s mistake. Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation. Proven Results. (877) 882-2256

Wise Up About Credit Reports and Credit Scores

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.

Click Here To See Your Credit Score Now 3. There are no joint credit reports or credit scores. Credit reports are files maintained on individuals regardless of marital status. If you are married, you and your spouse will have individual credit reports. However, anything you co-sign for becomes part of your credit report. Joint accounts will be reported on both individual’s credit report. If you are an authorized user on someone’s account, the credit history will be reported on both accounts, though only the actual account holder has liability for the account. 4. There are no quick fixes. If you’ve made some poor financial decisions in the past (and many have!), it takes time for your credit score to recover. Negative items such as bankruptcies may stay on your credit report for seven or even ten years; however, the impact of negative items on your credit score should lessen over time. 5. No one is going to monitor your credit for you. You are the only one who knows if the information in your credit report is accurate. With information being added sometimes daily, it’s important to stay on top of your credit report. With MyFreeScoreNow’s credit monitoring service, your credit report is monitored daily, and you are alerted whenever there are significant changes that should be verified. Credit monitoring is a proactive approach to staying on top of your credit. Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation. Proven Results. (877) 882-2256

Chip Cards Still Pose a Risk for Identity Theft

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.

Your 2016 Credit Score Is Available Now

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!

Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation. Proven Results. (877) 882-2256

Credit Monitoring for a Better Credit Score

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.

See Your 2016 Credit Score Instantly Don’t hide your head in the sand thinking your credit report and credit score don’t matter. They do! And no one else is going to know—or care—if the information in your credit report is accurate. That’s your job, and it’s made easy with credit monitoring from MyFreeScoreNow. Your MyFreeScoreNow membership includes these important benefits: • Daily monitoring of your credit report • Alerts to significant changes to your credit report • Monthly credit score update • Score tracking of your credit score over time • Notice when someone looks at your credit report (inquiries) • Access to our extensive Learning Center Credit monitoring puts time on your side. It enables you to quickly address and correct credit report errors as they appear on your credit report so your access to credit is not compromised, and your credit score is an accurate summary of your credit history. Credit monitoring also provides a powerful defense against identity theft, a problem that has topped the Federal Trade Commission’s complain list for over fifteen years. The reality is no one is immune to becoming an identity theft victim, and identity theft often first shows up on a credit report when a thief attempts to open a new credit account. Give yourself the gift of credit monitoring in 2016. Then go about the business of life knowing that your credit report is being monitored every day. Now that’s a good resolution for 2016! Improve Your Credit Score. Free Consultation. Proven Results. (877) 882-2256