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Good credit can make it easier to do anything from rent an apartment to qualify for a lower rate on a car loan. On the other hand, bad credit can be an obstacle to achieving your goals. When your credit history is a barrier to the financial life you want, companies promising credit repair may […]
How to Repair Your Credit in 11 Steps Read More »
You have the right to add a security freeze, more commonly called a credit freeze, to all of your credit reports for free. Doing so can limit access to your credit reports, which may help protect you from some types of credit fraud. There are several ways to freeze your credit at each of the
How to Freeze Your Credit at All 3 Credit Bureaus Read More »
Hard inquiries in your credit report might hurt your credit scores, but there’s no specific rule for how many inquiries are too many. Depending on why the hard inquiries occurred and the type of credit score, some hard inquiries may not affect your score much at all. Even when they do affect your scores, hard
How Many Hard Inquiries Is Too Many? Read More »
A security freeze (also known as a credit freeze) and a credit lock both achieve the same main goal: preventing the use of your credit report for processing a loan or credit application. Both are security measures that can be helpful if criminals impersonating you attempt to borrow money in your name. Credit freezes and
Credit Freeze and Credit Lock: What’s The Difference? Read More »
Your credit report contains a lot of information about each of your credit accounts. The terms “closed” and “paid in full” on your credit report mean you no longer have a credit account open, and that it has been paid in full. What Does”Closed” Mean on a Credit Report? Each of your credit accounts will
What Do “Closed” and “Paid in Full” Mean on Credit Reports? Read More »
You have the right to add a security freeze to your credit reports for free. Also known as a credit freeze, this action can limit access to your credit reports and help protect you from some types of credit and identity fraud. However, credit freezes don’t stop all types of fraud, and they can keep
What to Know Before Freezing Your Credit Read More »
A charge-off is a negative entry on your credit report indicating a creditor has written off a debt as a loss because it doesn’t believe you will repay the debt. Despite the charge-off, you’re still responsible for paying back the debt. A charge-off is considered a derogatory entry in your credit file—a serious negative event—and
What Is a Charge-Off? Read More »
A credit check is when a lender or other organization reviews your credit information to better understand your history managing financial obligations. It typically involves obtaining your credit report from one or more of the three national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) and possibly a credit score based on each requested credit report. What
What Is A Credit Check? Read More »
Student loans can help build your credit if you manage them responsibly, but they can also damage your credit if you’re not careful. Here are some ways student loan debt can impact your credit profile and other ways you can build credit as a college student. How Student Loans Can Help Build Credit Student loans
Do Student Loans Help Build Credit? Read More »
Data breaches are incidents in which confidential information, including consumer data, is stolen from a company or organization. If you receive a notice that your information has been compromised in a data breach, it’s important to act quickly to secure your accounts and take preventive measures against fraud. Here are six steps to take if
Here’s What You Should Do After a Data Breach Read More »
People with good credit are more likely to be approved for a loan, qualify for lower interest rates and pay less for home and auto insurance than those with fair or poor credit. But establishing a solid credit history doesn’t happen overnight. It requires taking positive action consistently, over time. The good news is there
8 Ways to Help Your Teen Build Good Credit Now Read More »
If you don’t have a credit history in the U.S., or you haven’t used credit recently, you might not be scoreable by the main credit scoring models. As a result, it could be difficult to qualify for new credit cards or loans with favorable terms. But there are several ways to establish your credit or
How to Establish Credit if You’re Unscoreable Read More »
Credit scores and credit-based insurance scores serve similar purposes—to help companies understand risk. Both types of scores can vary depending on the information in the credit report used to calculate them. However, the two scores are used by different types of companies, have different scoring factors and predict different outcomes. What Is a Credit-Based Insurance
What Is the Difference Between Credit-Based Insurance Scores and Credit Scores? Read More »
A tax lien is a claim against your property by the IRS, typically placed when you neglect or fail to pay your tax bill. While a tax lien can impact your financial situation and your ability to obtain credit, it won’t show up on your credit reports or negatively impact your credit score. Does a
Tax Liens Are No Longer a Part of Credit Reports Read More »
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) is a federal regulation that forbids lenders from discriminating against loan applicants based on personal criteria. The purpose of the law, which was enacted in 1974, is to make sure that creditors’ decisions are based strictly on financial factors, such as income, debt and credit history. Additionally, the act
What Is the Equal Credit Opportunity Act? Read More »
Wondering why your credit score seems different every time you check it? Credit scores can change frequently, reflecting updates to your credit files at the three national credit bureaus. In general, you can expect your credit score to update at least once a month. But if your lenders report to the bureaus more frequently, you
How Often Is My Credit Score Updated? Read More »
When you apply for a loan, the lender typically checks one or more of your credit reports and credit scores. When a lender accesses your credit report, a so-called hard inquiry is added to your reports. If your loan application is denied, the inquiry will remain, but the lender’s decision will not appear on your
Does a Declined Loan Appear on Your Credit Report? Read More »
If you’re a parent who’s worked hard on improving your credit, you may wonder if your child also has their own credit report. Typically, minors haven’t built credit and don’t have their own credit reports yet. But that’s not always the case. Your child under 18 can potentially have a credit report in certain scenarios,
Does My Child Have a Credit Report? Read More »
The federal student loan payment pause is coming to an end, with payments resuming in October 2023. If you defaulted on your federal loans before the moratorium began in March 2020, you’ve enjoyed no collection attempts for more than three years. And fortunately, the federal government has a temporary program in place—the Fresh Start program—to
Get Out of Student Loan Default With the Fresh Start Program Read More »
If you’re worried a recession could impact your credit score, your fear isn’t completely unfounded. While credit scores are not directly affected by recessions, if your financial situation changes due to a downturn in the economy, your scores could change as well. Because credit scores are based on how you manage your debt, financial conditions
How to Protect Your Credit During a Recession Read More »
