If the only thing that matters to you when paying off debt is saving dollars and cents, the payment strategy that clearly makes the most financial sense is paying off your balance with the highest...
Weekly Debt & Credit Repair Tips
Weekly Debt & Credit Repair Tips
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What's the Best Way to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?
Sep 26, 2022
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How to Prioritize Your Debt.
Apr 28, 2017Depending on how much debt you have and how many bills you need to pay, it may be impossible to pay it all off at once. Instead, it is necessary to prioritize the ones that are most in need of being...
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Learn Your Rights Under the CROA
Sep 01, 2016The Credit Repair Organizations Act, also known as CROA, is a section of the Consumer Credit Protection Act that protects consumers from credit repair scams. Credit repair organizations can be an...
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See What Income-Based Repayment Can Do For You
May 20, 2016Are you struggling to keep up with your federal student loan payments? If so, a provision of the 2007 College Cost Reduction And Access Act, known as IBR (Income-Based Repayment), may be just what...
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Foreclosure and Your FICO Credit Scores
Feb 04, 2016A foreclosure ranks high among the most damaging hits to your credit score. In fact, FICO has stated that foreclosures will typically result in a loss of 85 to 105 points for someone with a 680...
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Weekly Tip: Lower your debts.
May 15, 2015Everyone has gone through moments in life when bills just add up to the point where there's not enough income to pay everything on time. For anyone that is struggling with money as of late,...
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Building Credit with Credit Cards for Bad Credit
Apr 23, 2012Nobody wants to deal with repairing damaged credit, but the truth is many of us are just one serious illness or job loss away from a credit nightmare. And while it can take years of responsible...
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What Happens to Charge Offs After Debts are Paid?
Jun 20, 2011You finally paid off the collection agency that's been hounding you over an old debt for years, but what about the creditor that originally owned your account? What happens to the charge off they've...
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Could Your Credit Report Cost You a Job?
Mar 21, 2011According to a survey released in 2010 by the Society for Human Resource Management, 60 percent of employers perform some type of credit report screening on applicants. Of that 60 percent, 13...
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Can the Same Debt be Reported Twice?
Mar 13, 2011Consumers are often surprised when they pull their credit reports and find that one of their old debts is listed twice under different creditors' names. How can this happen? It's actually quite...
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Don't Become a Foreclosure Statistic
Feb 28, 2011There were more than 1 million foreclosures in 2010, according to RealtyTrac, a leading online real estate marketplace and publisher of the country's largest and most comprehensive foreclosure...
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Don't Use Retirement Funds to Pay Off Debt
Feb 23, 2011It can be tempting to dip into retirement money when no cash is left in the bank and there are bills to be paid, but you must resist the temptation! Retirement funds are for one and only one thingâ...
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Foreclosure, Short Sale, Deed-in-lieu: All the Same to FICO
Jan 23, 2011Lots of lawyers, real estate agents, and loan officers love to give free advice about credit scores these days. Unfortunately, many of them have no clue what they're talking about. A common piece...
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How to Pay Off Debt: Determining Your Best Course of Action
Jan 20, 2011Personal finance gurus love to argue about which debt you should pay off first. Browse the Internet for just a few minutes, and you'll find volumes of painfully long articles rehashing the same old...
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Put Your Social Security Tax Cut to Work
Jan 02, 2010If you pay social security taxes, your withholding rate just dropped from 6.2% to 4.2% beginning January 1st. This tax cut, dubbed the 2011 Payroll Tax Holiday, was actually passed by Congress late...
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How to Activate a Fraud Alert
Oct 24, 2010Ever had a conversation with a shady customer service agent who demanded your FULL social security number and other personal information, which you reluctantly handed over? It can be a rather...
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Credit Card Debt and Community Property Laws
Oct 04, 2010Married couples, especially those that have been separated for a long time, often assume that one spouse cannot be held responsible for the other spouse's credit card debt unless they are joint...
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Understanding the Statute of Limitations on Debt
Sep 26, 2010A common misconception among consumers is that their credit card debt will simply go away once the Statute of Limitations (SOL) has expired. However, in reality, the debt goes nowhere and creditors...
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How to Begin Improving Your Bad Credit
Aug 30, 2010The 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...
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How Payments Are Applied to Credit Card Balances
Jul 11, 2010You may have heard that the CARD Act of 2009 now requires credit card companies to apply payments towards balances with the highest interest rate first. While this is true to a certain degree, there...
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Can I Be Fired for Declaring Bankruptcy?
Jun 27, 2010The short and simple answer is "no". The Federal Bankruptcy Act prohibits employers from firing employees solely because they've filed for bankruptcy, but there may be other signs leading up to...
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Credit Reports: How One Baddie Becomes Two
May 25, 2010When creditors are unable to collect a debt for an extended period of time, generally 6 months or more, they will write it off their books. To the debtor, this will show up on their credit reports...
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How Debt Validation Works
May 17, 2010Have you been contacted by a collection agency regarding an old debt you're not sure is yours? If so, you have the right to receive more detailed information before cutting a check to anyone. In...
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Paid Collections May Not Improve Credit Scores
May 10, 2010It seems logical—pay off that nagging collection on your credit report, and you should see an improvement in your credit score, right? Well, that's not exactly how it works. In fact, paying...
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Don't Tap 401(k) to Pay Off Debt
Apr 06, 2010Are you thinking about tapping your retirement funds to get rid of lingering credit card debt? If so, don't do it, and here's why: While racking up too much debt on credit cards may be one...
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Paid Collections: Will They Go Away?
Mar 01, 2010Many consumers are surprised when they find paid collection accounts still sitting on their credit reports. Unfortunately, it's a common misconception that paying off an account in collections will...
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What's the FDCPA?
Jan 17, 2010The FDCPA, or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, protects consumers from abusive collection techniques and provides legal recourse to fight back against third-party debt collectors who violate the...
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What's the CROA?
Dec 06, 20092008 was a tough year for credit repair agencies. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission shut down more than 30 businesses for violations of the CROA - The Credit Repair Organizations Act - which...
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What's the FCRA?
Nov 15, 2009The three big credit reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—gather an enormous amount of personal data about consumers, compile their credit reports, and disseminate...
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What's the FCBA?
Sep 09, 2009Have you ever noticed that your credit card company mistakenly billed you for something twice? Or perhaps you returned that new flat screen TV because it was too huge to fit on your living room wall...
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Can Social Security Benefits Be Garnished?
May 03, 2009Unless you owe Uncle Sam taxes or are behind on alimony or child support payments, your social security benefits cannot be garnished. So, if you've recently lost your job and are worried about your...
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I Paid My Tax Lien - Why is it Still on My Credit Report?
Apr 26, 2009The IRS has 30 days, according to its own rules, to release a tax lien once you pay or settle the debt. However, in reality this is something that is often overlooked. Unaware consumers may go for...
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Collection Accounts Linger for 7 Years
Apr 19, 2009It's a common misconception among consumers that paying off a collection account will make it disappear from their credit report. However, the truth is a collection remains on your credit report for...
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Top 5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Credit
Apr 08, 2009Spring is meant to be a time of renewal and rejuvenation. For many people, this might include cleaning out the old attic or scrubbing the entire house from floor to ceiling. There's just something...
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Is Forgiven Debt Really Considered Income?
Feb 22, 2009If you're in the process of settling a debt or thinking about approaching a creditor to begin debt settlement negotiations, it's important to remember that the IRS considers forgiven debt to be...
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2009 - The Year to Get Rid of Debt
Jan 04, 2009Consumers have truly witnessed an ironic turn of events in the credit card world. For decades credit issuers have ferociously competed to be the first card in your wallet, and now they are just...
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What's Loss Mitigation?
Nov 17, 2008What does this financial buzzword you're hearing everywhere really mean? If you're a homeowner facing the possibility of foreclosure, it should mean a great deal to you because loss mitigation is a...
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Credit Talk Forum Helps Users Navigate the Credit World
Sep 13, 2008Are you ready to take matters into your own hands and improve your credit? If so, congratulations for having the courage to do something about your credit problems. Many people choose to avoid the...
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There is an error on my credit report - Where do I begin?
Apr 27, 2008Mistakes happen all the time, and it is more important than ever to make sure there are no errors on your credit report. To ensure an error gets corrected as soon as possible, be prepared to write a...
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