How Long Will Inquiries Stay on My Credit Report?

A hard inquiry, which occurs when you apply for credit and your credit reports are pulled as part of the application process, will remain on your reports for two years. Your credit score may also take a small hit as a result of the hard inquiry, but you shouldn't see a significant downward swing in your overall scores. A drop of more than five points likely means something else has changed in your credit profile.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2010-09-06 17:00

MasterCard's inControl: Would You Use it?

September 3rd, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

These are strange economic times we live in. I've heard others refer to it as the "new abnormal", alluding to the fact that their guess about where our economy's headed is basically as good as anyone's. And I have to agree—nothing seems to make sense anymore. People are walking away from their homes yet still vacationing and buying up the latest expensive Apple gadgets. Unemployment continues to hover around ten percent, yet I can't ever find a parking spot at the local mall. And the stock market...well, it's all over the place. Absolutely nuts! Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, may have said it best when he declared in July that our economic outlook is "unusually uncertain." Way to go out on a limb there Mr. Bernanke. I don't know about you, but I've felt unusually uncertain for almost two years now.

How to Begin Improving Your Bad Credit

The first step in any credit improvement process should begin by pulling your credit reports. Why? Because it's important to understand exactly where you stand before you can improve upon anything.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2010-08-30 17:00

AMEX Reigns Again in Customer Satisfaction

August 26th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

For the fourth year in a row, American Express has topped the charts in the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Released last week, the study indicates that AmEx received a customer service ranking of 769 on a 1,000 point scale, which was 12 points higher than the runner up—Discover Card. In addition, AmEx was the only credit issuer to receive five out of five J.D. Power.com Power Circles. Bringing up the rear for the ten major credit issuers analyzed in the study was HSBC, which received a ranking a 686 and just two out of five power circles.

HELOCs and Your FICO Scores

Unlike mortgages, which are installment loans, the amount of available credit on a home equity line of credit (HELOC) will increase when you pay down the balance. Sounds like a credit card, right? In some ways, yes, and HELOCs are technically considered revolving credit accounts as well.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2010-08-23 17:00

Third Phase of Credit CARD Act Finally Arrives

August 19th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

[caption id="attachment_1624" align="alignleft" width="243" caption=" "]Photo by Andres Rueda[/caption]

Has it not felt like an eternity since President Obama first signed the Credit CARD Act into law? Here we are almost 15 months after the stroke of his pen, and we're still waiting for the final round of new credit card rules to take effect.

Fortunately, we don't have to wait much longer. Beginning August 22nd, here are five of the final key changes you should expect to see from your credit card companies:

Credit Card Late Fees Capped at Minimum Payment

New fee restrictions included in the Credit CARD Act of 2009 are set to take effect this month. And one important change you may not have heard about yet mandates a new limit on the amount credit issuers can charge for late fees.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Mon, 2010-08-16 17:00

Mortgage or Credit Card: Which Would You Pay First?

August 13th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

[caption id="attachment_1606" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=" "]Photo by Respres[/caption]

A recent TransUnion study found that the percentage of Americans behind on their mortgage but current on their credit cards increased nearly 55 percent between early 2008 and the third quarter of 2009.

And while the amount of consumers we're talking about is still relatively small (6.6%), I find the overall trend to be quite compelling. Clearly, consumers are beginning to think differently about the priority of their debts.

When to Pay Extra on Your Mortgage

Everyone's personal financial plan should include a strategy to pay down existing debt. The big question is which debt should be paid down first?

In many households the single largest amount of debt is in the form of a mortgage. But just because it's the biggest and most obvious debt doesn't necessarily mean it should be the first to get paid down with any extra cash at the end of the month. After all, mortgage debt is both low interest and tax deductible.

Updated by Joshua Heckathorn on Sun, 2010-08-08 17:00

How to Close Credit Cards for Deceased Relatives

August 6th, 2010 by Joshua Heckathorn

When a loved one passes away, the last thing on your mind is their credit card bills. However, in order to protect the deceased's estate from additional charges, fees, or even identity theft, it's important to remember that your loved one's credit cards will remain open and active until you take the following three steps.