Establish Credit and Join a Health Club
by: Charles Essmeier
Everyone knows how difficult it can be to establish credit. It's the old "chicken and egg" situation ? you need credit in order to get credit. The fact that you have nothing in your history to suggest that you will not repay a loan will not help you get one. You need to have something in your credit history that suggests that you will repay the loan. And how do you do that if you have no credit?
One solution that's often suggested is a secured credit card. A secured card requires you to put up a cash deposit that acts as collateral against your credit limit. Your issuing bank knows you will pay your bills because they have your cash. If you don't pay, they will just take it out of your deposit.
A secured credit card is a good way to start building a credit history if you have none, but is there anything else you can do? How about joining a health club?
That may seem like a strange notion, but it may not be that far fetched. Most health clubs, especially the national chains, will have you sign a contract to join. That contract will require you to make monthly payments for a minimum amount of time, say two or three years. Most of them will also report your business to the credit bureaus. If you pay on time, you will get some positive additions to your credit report. Be sure to ask before signing up if they report your payments to the credit bureaus. If not, keep looking until you find a gym that does.
It's pretty well known that the big health clubs make most of their money selling memberships, rather than selling health. If all you want to do is pay them the money, that's fine. That's what most people do. They attend for a while and then fall out of the habit after a while.
On the other hand, an added bonus of using a gym to establish credit is that you will have an opportunity to stay healthy by engaging in regular exercise and few methods of establishing credit will do that.
About The Author
©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing.
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How Your Credit Rating is Determined
How Your Credit Rating is Determined
by: John Mussi
A person's credit rating is a very important part of their life? having bad credit can affect your ability to get a loan, credit card, auto financing, some bank accounts, and even some jobs. While many people are aware of how important their credit rating is, they might not know exactly how it is that their credit rating is determined.
Below you'll find some information on exactly how your credit rating is determined, including the sort of things that can cause it to go down, as well as things that you can do to make sure that everything is correct and how you can improve it if it's worse than you'd like.
How a Credit Rating is Determined
Your credit rating and your credit score are determined by a compilation of reports from the various creditors that you've had in the past, both positive and negative. Each report either adds to or subtracts from your credit score, depending...
How Your Credit Rating is Determined
Credit report > How Your Credit Rating is Determined
Credit Report ? Watch Out for Parking Tickets
Credit Report ? Watch Out for Parking Tickets
by: Charlie Essmeier
The economic downturn of the last five years has affected millions of Americans, but it has also affected the budgets of states, cities and counties. With limited tax dollars with which to work, various government entities have had to try to stretch their budgets to allow them to continue to function. Many government agencies at the state and local levels have turned over debt collection to collection agencies, even for such seemingly small debts as parking tickets or library fines. What does this mean? An unpaid parking ticket could end upon on your credit report.
Credit reports and the associated FICO credit score have become an increasingly important part of the lives of Americans. At one time, the credit report was primarily used by mortgage lenders to determine if a prospective customer should be granted a loan. In recent years, the credit score and report have been used...
Credit Report ? Watch Out for Parking Tickets
Credit report > Credit Report ? Watch Out for Parking Tickets
Tips on How to Apply for a Credit Card
Tips on How to Apply for a Credit Card
by: Morgan Hamilton
Deciding to apply for a credit card is not a decision you should take lightly.
Many stores try to
get you to impulsively apply at the register, and you should never agree.
Credit cards can affect
your financial situation for years so you should certainly think before you act.
If you want to
apply for a credit card, there are a few steps you should take beforehand.
Evaluation
Before you apply for a credit card, you should do an evaluation of your finances.
Get a free
credit report and make sure everything is accurate.
You will want to know what your credit score is
so you will know which cards to look at when you apply for a credit card.
If there is anything
unusual or incorrect on your credit report, deal with it immediately.
Many people never look at
Credit report > Tips on How to Apply for a Credit Card
Debt Collection--Some Tips for Dealing with Old Debt
Debt Collection--Some Tips for Dealing with Old Debt
by: Marjorie Salada
The business of debt collection has become very lucrative and the collection of "old" is on the rise. It would be wise to know your rights when it comes to getting collection calls for old debt especially debt that is excess of seven years and no longer appears on your credit record.
1. Be aware of the statute of limitations in the state you live and in the state the debt was incurred if they are different. If it has expired, the collection agency will have limited legal options.
2. You may want to ignore the call. If the statute of limitations has expired they have very little recourse and you have a lot to lose by negotiating repayment. Repayment could cause it to be relisted on your credit report again.
3. Write them a letter and send it certified mail. Do not admit to the debt. Once they have received the letter the law prohibits them from contacting you...
Debt Collection--Some Tips for Dealing with Old Debt
Credit report > Debt Collection--Some Tips for Dealing with Old Debt
Credit report
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