Treated Like a Criminal at Checkout? Don’t Put Up With It
June 9, 2010 – 10:53 am | No Comment

Credit card fraud is a serious issue, and retailers and credit card issuers have enacted a number of measures to help protect your identity and their bottom-lines. But the backlash of tighter security is that …

Read the full story »
Credit Card Debt

How to get out and stay out, as well as other sticky issues like dealing with debt collectors and loan consolidation.

Credit Cards

Reviews, Tips & Tricks, and everything else you need to know about getting the most out your credit cards.

Personal Finance

Budgeting, frugal living, saving, and all kinds of other money and finance related subjects.

Credit Report

Learn how to repair and improve your credit score. Learn about Beacon and Fico scores, and much more!

Debit Cards

Don’t like the idea of spending money you don’t have? Get the scoop on bank and prepaid debit cards.

Home » Archive by Category

Articles in Credit Report

Credit Score Strategy: Paying in Full vs. Credit Limit Increases
April 14, 2010 – 9:50 am | One Comment
Credit Score Strategy: Paying in Full vs. Credit Limit Increases

There’s this pervasive myth going around that paying off your credit card balance in full each month will score you points (literally) with TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. The fact of the matter is that it …

Free Credit Reports – Post-FTC Crackdown
March 31, 2010 – 6:35 pm | No Comment
Free Credit Reports – Post-FTC Crackdown

Those hooky satire songs from FreeCreditReport.com hide a dark secret. First of all, that dude is a French-Canadian, so he probably doesn’t even have a credit history in the U.S., and to make matters worse, …

TrueCredit – Free TransUnion Credit Monitoring
November 17, 2009 – 8:33 am | 6 Comments
TrueCredit – Free TransUnion Credit Monitoring

If you’ve ever signed up for a free credit report, you’ve likely been pitched on TransUnion Credit Monitoring. Like most people, I declined this option and opted instead to save my $11.95 a month. But …

Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report from SmartCredit.com
October 19, 2009 – 4:45 am | 2 Comments
Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report from SmartCredit.com

Thanks to a new 5-day Free Trial offer, you can now get a free credit report from SmartCredit.com. In addition to a rundown on your credit history, SmartCredit.com offers you tools for monitoring your …

A Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report without Accidentally Signing Up For Extras: Part Three Equifax
September 24, 2009 – 5:49 am | No Comment
A Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report without Accidentally Signing Up For Extras: Part Three Equifax

In the third and final part of this series on getting your free credit report without the not-so-free extras, we’ll be looking at Equifax, one of the trickier credit reporting agencies.
1. Begin by signing onto …

Guide to Getting Your Free Credit Report from GoFreeCredit.com
September 2, 2009 – 4:50 pm | No Comment
Guide to Getting Your Free Credit Report from GoFreeCredit.com

GoFreeCredit.com is another vendor that offers you a free credit report when you sign up for their credit monitoring service. This credit monitoring service is $14.95 a month – but as long as you cancel …

A Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report without Accidentally Signing Up For Extras: Part Two – Experian
August 13, 2009 – 6:09 am | No Comment

In part two of our series, we’ll be showing you how to pull your credit report from Experian without accidentally signing up for any subscriptions (check out Part one – Transunion). That is, we’ll be …

Repairing Bad Credit and Why You Should Bother
July 30, 2009 – 8:00 am | No Comment
Repairing Bad Credit and Why You Should Bother

Repairing your credit isn’t easy and it isn’t fun, I should know. But, it’s possible to do if you have the patience and will to get it done.
Why Bother?
I’ve had a number of clients over …

How Your FICO Score Impacts Your Life
July 28, 2009 – 9:28 am | 6 Comments
How Your FICO Score Impacts Your Life

Your FICO score is more than just a credit score – it can have a big effect on areas of your life that, at first glance, completely unrelated to it. No, it’s not just your …

A Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Your (Actually) Free Credit Report without Accidentally Signing Up For Extras: Part One – TransUnion
July 27, 2009 – 4:54 am | 5 Comments

Those songs from a certain misleading ad campaign sure are catchy – and I don’t just mean that their melodies are hooky and infectious. The main catch from this supposed freebie website  (which shall …

Why You Should Think Twice Before You Cancel a Credit Card
July 25, 2009 – 8:23 am | 2 Comments
Why You Should Think Twice Before You Cancel a Credit Card

Canceling a credit card may seem like the best option, especially if you don’t use it very often- but doing so can lower your credit score. Here are six reasons why you might want to …

Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull: Which is What and Who’s Responsible?
July 23, 2009 – 9:16 am | 2 Comments
Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull: Which is What and Who’s Responsible?

The precise formula that credit reporting agencies use to determine your credit score is as elusive as Google’s PageRank algorithm. But there are some things we consumers understand well about the factors that go into …

42 Ways I’m going to make my 2009 Awesome…
July 22, 2009 – 4:35 am | 24 Comments
42 Ways I’m going to make my 2009 Awesome…

Last year I made a bunch of New Year’s resolutions and by the end of January I had broken pretty much every single one of them. And you know what? 2008 wasn’t half bad. Even …

Why You Should Develop a Healthy Obsession With Your Credit Rating
July 17, 2009 – 8:18 am | One Comment

It pays to keep close tabs on your credit rating as it has a big impact on other areas of your life. Here are 7 reasons why you should make sure that you are fully …