3 Easy Ways To Increase Your Credit Score

By Doc Schmyz

Once upon a time you could walk into a bank and get a loan on a handshake and your honor. This was when you actually dealt with a person and were seen as more than a number on a spread sheet. Now it?s all about your FICO score.

We can talk about several ways to review your credit but to keep it simple we are going to focus on the credit model created by Fair, Isaac Company. Better known as FICO.

A FICO score is one of the main factors used to determine your interest rate and the amount of a loan you will be offered. A good score makes you a more attractive loan then say someone who has a less then stellar credit history.

Preserving your FICO score, and improving it, is not difficult, but it may take time. Here are some tips to maintain and improve your score, based on three credit situations.

FIRST: Get a copy of your Credit History

There are many reasons you may have no credit history. Maybe you're just starting out, maybe you pay cash for everything and have never needed a loan. In any case, if you have no credit history, your FICO score is likely to be low.

An easy way to improve your credit history is to get a loan and pay it off onetime. A loan such as a car loan (also known as an installment loan) is generally looked at as more important, and given more value, then a credit card loan.

A second idea is to take a sum of money, let?s say $1000, and put it in to a 6 month CD at a bank or credit union. Then you in turn go and get an installment loan against the first CD as collateral. The final part of this step is to take your new loan and repeat the process 2 more times at a different bank each time.

In the end you have 3 loans. Pay the minimum payments for 6 months...then cash out the CD's and pay off the loans in full. Now you have a credit history.

SECOND: Keeping your history in good standing.

So we now have a good history. How do we get the score higher?

Make sure you don't close your old accounts. (Unless of course they charge you a fee of some sort to keep it open.) Part of your credit score is based on the amount of credit available vs. amount used. If you close old accounts you may impact this part of your credit.

Here is a thing to think about. Paying off your credit cards every month is good money management, but you may be able to improve in this area. Here's the scenario: you have a $2000 credit card. Every month, you charge about $1800 to that card. And, every month you pay it off. But here's what happens - your credit card company reports your credit information monthly to FICO. If they report it before you pay off your card, it looks like you carry a balance on your credit card every month. You may find your FICO score improves if you pay off your credit card at a different time of the month.

THIRD: Repair Your Poor Credit History

Ok we all at some point have poor credit history. However you can improve your score. It takes time but can be done. If you?re really unsure of the steps you need to take contact a credit counselor. You can find several good services offered online.

The FICO score is most affected by your credit history. To repair a low credit score start paying your bills onetime. In order of value you need to pay your Mortgage, Installment loans, and last your credit cards.

The next largest portion of your FICO score is based on how you use credit. The fastest way to improve this is to pay down your credit cards.

One final thing to look for is errors in your credit report. Get a copy of your credit report from all three primary agencies, and look at all the entries. You can find the agencies here: experian.com, equifax.com, and transunion.com. If there are any errors, start the process to have them removed. Call your creditors - sometimes they will remove negative information.

A good FICO score is a huge part of your financial life. Keep it healthy. Use these tips and watch your score climb. - 23196

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has done real estate deals all over the US. His website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Findreal estate information by state

Tiger Woods Downhill Fall Does Not Have To Become Yours: Short Term Stock Trading

By Gina Taylor

There is a lot you'll study stock market day trading from Tiger Woods downhill whirl in popularity.

Tiger Woods is at the prime of his sport. He's making money everywhere he goes.

Did you create cash on your last couple of trades? Are you on top of the globe?

Before you explode and risk it all stock market day trading, take a moment to think about Tiger Wood's state of affairs.

Lessons Concerning Short Term Stock Trading From Tiger Woods

Do not get snobby with success and assume you are God and can do whatever you want. See the price in your smart calls, however conjointly see the value in your bad ones. As a famed trader once said, "The sole reason I failed to learn to form more money within the stock market at an even faster rate is that I had winning trades." In other words, most of your learning comes from when you make mistakes. Keep modest and don't let accomplishment go to your head.

Do not attempt and hide your mistakes from you husband. Keep your spouse in the circle on how you're doing within the stock market. It's her money to. Do not hoodwink her regarding your string of losses and only tell her concerning your winners. She'll see the bank balance ultimately and recognize you're lying. If she catches you lying to her, her rage is going to be a lot worse than if you just came clean and told her concerning your loss in the first place.

Do not assume that throwing more cash at the matter is going to make it go away. While Tiger paid Rachel Uchitel $1 million greenbacks, it wasn't enough to stay her silence. It's never going to be enough. Thinking that if only you had a lot of money to toss into your trading account and that will somehow magically fix your trading problems could be a formula for disaster. If you can't create money with five hundred dollars, 1,000 isn't going to help. If you cannot make cash with 1,000 dollars, 10,000 isn't going to help. In the end, you have to have additional winners than losers. Irrespective of how much cash you throw into your trading account, it's not going to improve your winners to losers ratio. Don't be double minded. We tend to have secrets. However if you find that you're spending more time in secret land than in your reality land, you need to either stop visiting secret land, or change your reality. You cannot live in 2 worlds for long. You must never get a stock because of a certain profit thesis, then once that profit thesis is met, flip around and justify why you're still in your position. If your profit thesis has been met, shut down your position. You can always go back and analyze where you went wrong with your original profit thesis once you shut down your position. I'll never forget a trader who had 5% as his profit thesis. When he was 6% up, he stayed in the stock and said, "This stock is going up another 5 %!" Talk about daydream land. The stock eventually went down and he stopped out for a 15% loss on the trade. Had he stuck with his original profit thesis and not been double minded, he would have ended up with a 5% gain. As an alternative he had to settle for a fifteen percent loss. - 23196

About the Author:

I hope that you will be fond of this editorial on stock trading. For heaps of learning materials and analysis on day trading checkout stock market day trading and for a illustrious editorial on how a trader makes $65K a year trading just one stock checkout short term stock trading

Residential Real Estate The Place To Start

By Cody Scholberg

If you are new to the buying and selling of investment properties, you should opt to get involved with residential properties first. A lot of people already have a keen knowledge about residential properties as opposed to commercial properties. If you opt to buy commercial properties to start off, you may not know what to look for or what you need to be apparent of. When you find yourself getting involved with commercial real estate, regardless if its retail or office spaces, each investment venture comes with its own set of complications and specific guidelines that must adhered to. Residential properties such as apartments, homes, duplexes, town houses and things of that nature have a less complex set of rules that you have to follow in order to purchase them.

Commercial real estate has its own complexities whether it is retail, office space, or industrial real estate. You have different types of business contracts that are different and more detailed compared to residential real estate. Residential real estate includes single-family dwellings, condominiums, duplexes, town houses, and apartments. With each type of residential real estate, you will be dealing with tenants. Realize the tenants can call you at anytime to complain about the residence. Tenants generally do not care about the residence's condition only when things are not working properly. Dealing with tenants requires having good people skills as well as knowledge about the type of investment.

The key to dealing with residential property, you want to have a low vacancy rate with your properties. Generally, you will not have to worry about the vacancy rate unless you have your rent amounts set too high or the property is unappealing to potential tenants.

As the property owner of the residential property, you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep that will eat into your profits. Keep these facts in mind if you want to invest in this type of real estate for a long-term investment. The options for financing residential real estate are better than commercial property. The financial institutions generally only lend about 70% on commercial properties but on residential properties, you can have up to 90% for the loans. This makes obtaining residential real estate easier than commercial real estate.

Residential properties will continue to pay for themselves. You will consistently have tenants in your dwelling, which means you will always have an extra source of income coming in every single month. However, the biggest drawback that comes into the picture when you are investing in residential properties is the fact that you will take on the role of a landlord. You will be responsible for all repairs as well as maintenance that has to be done on the home while a tenant is occupying it.

It is wise to remember that investing in any type of property requires work and can be a full time job yet the long-term gains are great. - 23196

About the Author:

Learn more about commercial investment properties and finding your first few residential investment properties.