How to save your credit in bankruptcy

Posted on by Richard the MBA

Today, after watching some NFL games, I suddenly became curious about bankruptcy, so I did a quick google search and the first figure I found was astonishing. According to official records, in 2013 there were over 1 million non-business bankruptcy filings. 1 million. 1,000,000. On average, for every 300 people in the US you know, 1 of them filed for personal bankruptcy last year. This figuratively blew my mind.

So the topic for my blog post today was quickly decided.

You know, life happens. Someone in your family falls critically ill and you have to borrow money to pay for medical expenses without being able to pay it back. You lose a job because of the financial crisis and can no longer pay your bills. I offer my condolences to those that have a legitimate reason to file for bankruptcy. The road ahead, credit-wise, is going to be tough. Bankruptcy stays on credit reports for up to 10 years, and this is not the kind of record you want on your credit profile. Lenders that see bankruptcy when reviewing your credit report will not be very likely to extend you credit.

So, if bankruptcy is inevitable, how can you minimize its negative impact on your credit?

Continue reading How to save your credit in bankruptcy

Richard’s quest for 800 FICO credit score

Posted on by Richard the MBA

After achieving a 760 FICO credit score, I thought the next milestone would be 800. Since there are multiple FICO scoring models that lenders use, an 800 FICO would almost guarantee me at least a 760 on other FICO models. My credit history length is hitting 3 years in January 2015, and my AAoA (average age of accounts) is going to reach 2 years in February 2015. Since FICO scores tend to increase at these factors’ milestones, my score is probably going to achieve the maximum in February 2015 before hitting the plateau. And since I have several credit inquiries from the auto loan applications in February 2014, in February 2015 when they drop off, I’ll have a decent shot at an 800 FICO.

800 is a beautiful number Continue reading Richard’s quest for 800 FICO credit score

How do I improve my FICO credit score in a month?

Posted on by Richard the MBA

Even though I said that a good FICO credit score takes a long time to build, there are situations where time is against you and the last few points really matter. Many mortgage lenders have FICO score thresholds for interest rates, and you may fall a few points short of the next threshold which may mean thousands of dollars’ worth of payments. You don’t have another few years to carry your FICO score to that threshold. So what to do?

Continue reading How do I improve my FICO credit score in a month?

Why are FICO credit scores important?

Posted on by Richard the MBA

Your credit score is a number that represents your creditworthiness. It is a number calculated from your credit history based on an algorithm to predict how likely it is that you will default on your debt. While your credit score is not the only thing that determines the outcome of your mortgage or auto loan application, it is one of the most crucial factors, if not the most crucial.

Continue reading Why are FICO credit scores important?

Closing a credit card: let’s get the facts straight

Posted on by Richard the MBA

There are so many myths surrounding the issue of credit card closing I thought it’d be helpful to dedicate a whole blog post to this topic.
Why should you close a credit card? Well, there are several reasons:

  1. The credit card is pure junk, such as one of the worst credit cards in America which are listed here: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/10/6-worst-credit-cards/ – No questions about this.
  2. The credit card carries an unsustainable annual fee, such as most loyalty and transferable points cards (if you’re not familiar with reward credit cards, check this post out). Many cards of these types waive the first year’s annual fee, and many consumers don’t find them worth keeping beyond the first year.  Continue reading Closing a credit card: let’s get the facts straight