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Make Sure you Stay on Top of your Credit Card!

Sunday

It is an unwritten truth about daily life in these early years of the century that credit cards are almost a staple requirement of getting through each and every day!

It is quite difficult, in fact, to think of a time before credit cards became so widespread, and equally difficult to survive in the modern world without one.

Nor is this trend towards a plastic based society likely to reverse any time soon, with more and more card providers entering the market at a time when consumers buy more and more goods and services online using their card.

But credit cards are without a shadow of doubt a very dangerous double edged sword, as I highlight in my free report “Death By Credit Card”. Whilst they bring a previously unimagined freedom and flexibility to millions of consumers, at the very same time, they can bring untold difficulties to millions of others!

This does not mean that people with poor credit records cannot get credit cards. On the contrary, it has never been easier for people considered to be a poor credit risk, to obtain a credit card.

Nevertheless, it should never be forgotten that, even though credit cards are incredibly convenient, they will also inevitably have quite an impact on your credit rating, and on any credit reports that are requested about you.

These credit reports are incredibly important, and it is vital that you are aware of this fact, and the effect poor reports can have on your ability to obtain any kind of loan.

Financial institution, banks and loan companies all use potential customers credit reports to ascertain whether that particular applicant fulfils all of the necessary loan criteria. In fact, these credit reports will often be the key determining factor, which is why you should be very careful that using your credit card never does leads any financial institution to put adverse remarks or comments into your report.

And protecting yourself against such a scenario is actually simplicity itself. All other things being equal, simply pay your bill on time every month, and you should never have any adverse credit report problems.

By acting in this manner, you clearly demonstrate to your lender that you are responsible, that you understand how to use your credit card properly, and that they can trust you with additional loan facilities in the future. This, in turn, will serve to raise your credit score, making it easier for you to approach other lenders for credit facilities as well!

Bear in mind however; that the more credit accounts, credit cards and loans that you have, the greater the total potential debt risk you are.

This may be a concern to any new lender whom you might approach, as it could suggest that, with all these outstanding payments, you might simply be unable to pay them back.

Effectively, although you might be attracted by the idea of having more than one credit card, it can actually be a negative point on your records, in the eyes of the lender.

It is not so difficult to understand why this might be the case. One view could be that this is a way of spending all of the available credit in your existing account, all the way to your limit, before moving on to another new lender. Thus, many potential loan sources would be very cautious in these circumstances, even though there is nothing adverse actually showing on your credit reports.

Whilst this may well not be your plan, credit card lenders will almost always fear the worst, and refuse to extend a new loan, or give you a credit card at all.

Thus, even though you have actually done nothing wrong, the assumption that you might do so could, in fact damage your credit score! The future lenders assumption that you could get up to financial mischief leads them to decline your credit card application, and, hey presto, you have just become a poor credit risk!

Something else that might seem to be an unfair influence on you credit worthiness is simply paying your credit card bill a few days late. Even such a small oversight can have a very negative influence on what appears on your credit report.

Even a few late payments of a few days only can easily end up in your credit repot, depending on how flexible and reasonable your credit card company is prepared to be!

That’s right, whether this actually makes it as far as becoming a bad credit report is pretty much down to the discretion of your lender. They can, within reason, meddle with your overall credit rating at will!.

So the touchstone here is, stick to a couple of credit cards at the most, don’t max them out every month and generally be as sensible as you can with them. Play it safe and keep a careful record of how, when and where you use them, and you shouldn’t need to worry.

Never lose sight of the fact that, although it seems that a new credit card hits the streets every day, you should at all costs avoid getting suckered in, and never, ever get into the downward spiral of borrowing from Peter’s credit card to pay the bill from Paul’s!

Keeping a positive credit report should always remain your primary concern, and you should strive to make sure that it stays negative ratings free.

A positive credit report can be your best friend in times of financial meltdown.

Remember that the next time you are tempted to put just one more on the card!

Steve Cowan
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/make-sure-you-stay-on-top-of-your-credit-card-122568.html

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  1. kat k
    November 8th, 2009 at 14:59 | #1

    How can I make sure I keep my credit score up?
    I am 21 and I have a score of 783. I am very proud of this and I want to make sure it stays this way or gets better, especially in these crazy economic times. I use my credit cards responsibly and I am paying back student loans- what else can I do to make sure it stays this way? Or what should I *not* do, besides the obvious, to make sure it stays so good…
    any advice??

  2. Nick R
    November 8th, 2009 at 20:01 | #2

    Credit scores can be tricky. If you have to much credit your score goes down if you don’t have enough credit your score goes down. A few things that I know that affect your scores are:
    If you have a balance higher than 50% of available credit on a credit card that is bad.

    If you have a lot of open credit, lets say you have 10 cards with $5,000 available credit but you don’t owe anything that can be bad because tomorrow you could be $50,000 in debt.

    I would say figure how much credit you need and double it then never let your open credit go above that and make sure you don’t use more credit than you originally decided on.
    References :

  3. Karen P
    November 8th, 2009 at 20:03 | #3

    First thing to do is get a credit card, make SMALL purchases EVERY month, and then pay the full amount off every month. Sounds like you got step one down. Also, limit your cards to 2 and never get department store cards. If you have a car loan, this is good too because it helps build a history. Just don’t get one you can’t afford! Stay with the same bank for your card, loan, investments etc… as this will guarantee a mortgage loan or business loan should you need one someday.
    Karen
    References :

  4. Jarrett E
    November 8th, 2009 at 20:05 | #4

    Congrats on the high score! It looks like you are doing things right if you have such a high score at such a young age. Just keep using the cards responsibly and paying your student loan on time. If you don’t, I would consider buying everything with the cards and paying all the bills (power, water, rent if possible) with them. Just keep the the spending under 30% of the limit and pay off the balance every month. The best things to have as far as credit accounts are: 3 revolving (credit cards) and 2 installment (student loans, auto, personal, home). But seriously, with your score you will get the best offers for anything you apply for.
    References :

  5. Mohammad
    November 8th, 2009 at 20:07 | #5

    Credit score is like health – most people don’t think about it until it becomes a problem. Just as the current state of your health mirrors the health habits you have followed over a longer period of time, so your credit score reflects your credit history. It means that building a high credit score takes time (although there are some shortcuts) and maintaining it is a continuous process. In this article, you’ll find 5 ways to increase credit score and ensure you get good interest rates whenever you need credit.Before talking about the details on how to increase credit score, there are some basics you need to know. Credit score, or FICO score (the most commonly used credit score, created by the Fair Isaac Corp.), is a number ranging from 300 to 850 which is calculated with a mathematical model, using the information in your credit report. The number shows the lender the likelihood of you paying back the loan on time. The higher the score, the less risky it is for the lender to give you a loan and the better interest rate you are offered. If your credit score is 700 and above, you’re likely to get the best interest rates available.

    http://best-loans.awardspace.com/creditscore.htm

    A bad credit score not only may cost you thousands of dollars in high interest rates – if your credit score is in a really bad shape (e.g. below 500), you may not qualify for a loan at all.To sum up – in order to get credit and good interest rates, you need to have a high credit score! Below you can read 5 important tips on how to increase credit score and keep it high. That’s the first advice you’ll get when you’re looking for ways to increase credit score. This tip seems really simple and obvious, but still many people underestimate its importance. What lenders want to know the most is if and how timely you have paid your bills in the past. That’s why 35% of the credit score is based on your credit history. Delinquent payments and collections can severely damage your score. The more recent your payment problems are, the worse. So, in order to increase your credit score, start paying bills on time right now, and your score may already be higher after a month.
    References :

  6. Bob B
    November 8th, 2009 at 20:09 | #6

    here are some search results
    http://www.yabloog.com/62credit_card_.html
    References :

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