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12:21 PM
Alexis P. Jones, The Credit DIVA
Everywhere you look, there is a commercial that caters to people who have some kind of credit problem. Commercials on TV flood your views in between your favorite shows on "How to get loans because you need a second chance" or "Buy a Car for $99 down even with problem credit". It's like you simply do not have to figure out how to restore your credit situation because, no matter what someone is lining up to take your hard earned money and charge you record interest rates! Bad credit can be a thing in the past for you, but you must understand that a change has to happen to get to a place where you can command the best opportunities in life. In this article I am going to layout some very important points to add to your tool belt as you recover from old credit problems. Yes, it is still called Credit Recovery...because you are in recovery until you reach the other side. The other side is where you can acquire a non-secured credit card with an interest rate below 10% or zero introductory rate for 12 months, that's where you are taking advantage of the best offers. So what are the best ways to address poor money habits? Here are 5 very important tools:
1. Get a desk calendar and write down every expense you have for a given month. Plan out far as you can, document even cell phone bills, utility bill, any and living expenses.
2. Take an inventory of the extra stuff, like beauty care, fun expenses and on a separate sheet of paper, lay out what you spend down to the dime.
3. If you have existing credit card balances, get out your last 3 months statements and grab a highlighter pen. Next you should use that pen to capture every item recorded that matches the beauty and extra stuff that you documented on that piece of paper separate fro m the calendar, and add it up This total will give you an idea of where you EXTRA cash is going that could be potentially used for the balances that cause your credit problem. That problem could be overspending, late payments and/or unable to acquire new credit because your existing payment history is in-consistent.
4. Now go back to that desk calendar and take a hard look at your bill payment patterns, is there something you could do differently? Perhaps a balance your carrying could be paid off sooner than later. Balances have significant impact on what your payment history says about you. High balances every month signal your credit card issuer that you may have a management problem. Balances are also recorded on your credit report every month including the highest balance for any given month. This balance is factored into your ability to get credit line increases.
5. By getting a true picture of what you are doing with your money on paper, on a calendar and based on what you do from one day to the next, you start to see why you are having the problems that you are faced with. Also, you can decide and determine what you are willing to do to correct the situation. I am a big supporter of sacrificing the wants to get to as place that allows for more freedom. Money problems are camouflaged by habits we think we cannot break, but it's a game-changer when we beat the instinct not to make adjustments.
In conclusion, you have more control than you realize. Managing money starts with every day expenses and prioritizing them. Credit care is in totality what results in our abitity to structure our decisions that affect our credit report history and long-term borrowing power.
1. Get a desk calendar and write down every expense you have for a given month. Plan out far as you can, document even cell phone bills, utility bill, any and living expenses.
2. Take an inventory of the extra stuff, like beauty care, fun expenses and on a separate sheet of paper, lay out what you spend down to the dime.
3. If you have existing credit card balances, get out your last 3 months statements and grab a highlighter pen. Next you should use that pen to capture every item recorded that matches the beauty and extra stuff that you documented on that piece of paper separate fro m the calendar, and add it up This total will give you an idea of where you EXTRA cash is going that could be potentially used for the balances that cause your credit problem. That problem could be overspending, late payments and/or unable to acquire new credit because your existing payment history is in-consistent.
4. Now go back to that desk calendar and take a hard look at your bill payment patterns, is there something you could do differently? Perhaps a balance your carrying could be paid off sooner than later. Balances have significant impact on what your payment history says about you. High balances every month signal your credit card issuer that you may have a management problem. Balances are also recorded on your credit report every month including the highest balance for any given month. This balance is factored into your ability to get credit line increases.
5. By getting a true picture of what you are doing with your money on paper, on a calendar and based on what you do from one day to the next, you start to see why you are having the problems that you are faced with. Also, you can decide and determine what you are willing to do to correct the situation. I am a big supporter of sacrificing the wants to get to as place that allows for more freedom. Money problems are camouflaged by habits we think we cannot break, but it's a game-changer when we beat the instinct not to make adjustments.
In conclusion, you have more control than you realize. Managing money starts with every day expenses and prioritizing them. Credit care is in totality what results in our abitity to structure our decisions that affect our credit report history and long-term borrowing power.
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