Ellen Johnson
04/07/2024
If you monitor your credit using a free website, chances are, you’ve seen your VantageScore. However, you may not have realized that this credit score is not the same as your FICO score.
03/24/2024
Nearly one in five American adults do not have a credit score. Find out what it means to be "credit invisible" and how consumers can become credit visible.
03/19/2024
The debt snowball and the debt avalanche are the two most popular methods for paying off debt. We explain how they work, the pros and cons of each approach, and how to decide which debt payoff strategy is right for you.
03/11/2024
Credit cards are not only a useful payment method for making purchases but also an essential component of a solid credit-building strategy. When you have the knowledge to use credit cards to your advantage rather than to your detriment, they can be an extremely powerful financial tool to have in your arsenal.
03/04/2024
The vast majority of lenders use your FICO credit score to evaluate your credit risk as a consumer when they are deciding whether or not to extend credit to you. And yet, historically, it has been costly for consumers to access their own FICO scores.
02/04/2024
Everyone wants to get a higher credit score, but not all of the “hacks” or tips being promoted actually help you get more credit score points. Credit expert John Ulzheimer answers some common questions about ways to get more credit score points.
01/21/2024
Being an authorized user on someone else’s credit card can often be a valuable strategy for consumers who are looking to build credit. However, it is not true that everyone will benefit from authorized user accounts in every situation.
01/15/2024
Credit sweeps are a heavily advertised and promoted service among credit repair companies. John Ulzheimer explains why you need to watch out for credit sweep scams in an episode of Credit Countdown.
12/07/2023
Credit repair can take months to see results, but we have effective credit hacks that you can use to get a better credit score fast. Check out our list of the best credit hacks that will help you improve your credit.
12/04/2023
Balance transfers can be a valuable tool for helping consumers get out of credit card debt without being crushed by interest charges. On the other hand, if you’re not careful, they can leave you worse off than you were before. Read this article to find out everything you need to know about balance transfers and how to decide if a balance transfer is right for you.
11/19/2023
If you’re wondering how to update your credit report information fast so that you can improve your credit rating quickly, you may be interested in getting a rapid rescore. Find the answers to all your questions about rapid rescores in this article.
11/10/2023
Do you have derogatory items dragging down your credit score? Here's how to get derogatory entries removed from your credit report.
10/30/2023
Certain negative items could potentially stay on your credit report permanently. Here are the three exceptions to the 7-10 year limit on negative information imposed by the FCRA.
10/19/2023
Is it possible to have too much credit? We answer the question of whether having too much credit could hurt your credit score by breaking it down into three parts: having too much available credit, having too much debt, and having too many credit accounts.
10/05/2023
Credit reports are an integral part of our financial system, yet many of us are seriously misinformed about how credit reports work. We'll help you understand what your credit report is and why it’s important.
09/25/2023
Credit scores impact our lives in more ways than you might think, yet, unfortunately, they are complex and can be difficult to understand. In this article, we’ll clear up what credit scores are, why they matter, how to build credit, and how to improve your credit score.
09/16/2023
Bad credit is something we all fear, but what is actually considered poor credit and how could it affect you? In addition to explaining what bad credit is and why you need to avoid it, we'll also provide some strategies in this article to help you fix bad credit.
09/14/2023
Secured credit and unsecured credit are types of credit that are very different in terms of risk to consumers and lenders.
09/10/2023
Inquiries are often blamed for people's bad credit, but we're not so sure that's the case. Read this article to learn what hard inquiries and soft inquiries are and the truth about how inquiries affect your credit score.
09/08/2023
If you have bad credit or no credit at all, you’ll likely have a hard time getting a loan. Fortunately, there are some ways to start building credit even when you haven’t used credit before.
08/30/2023
The FICO Resilience Index is a new type of credit score designed to help lenders better evaluate credit risk in today’s shaky economy. Should you be worried about your Resilience Index rating?
08/03/2023
It’s all too likely that you may have errors on your credit report. Read this article to learn about common types of errors on credit reports and how to fix them.
06/25/2023
Collections can damage your credit score for a long time, so it's important to understand them. This helpful guide explains what collections are, how they affect your credit, how collection agencies try to re-age debt, how to get collections removed from your credit report, and more.
06/22/2023
What is the difference between your overall credit utilization ratio and individual credit utilization ratios and why does it matter to your credit?
06/16/2023
26 million consumers in America have no credit record whatsoever. On top of that, there are an additional 19 million consumers who do have credit files, but they do not contain sufficient credit information to be scored by a widely available credit scoring model.
05/31/2023
People who are serious about improving their credit often wonder what it takes to get the highest possible credit score. For the FICO 8 credit scoring model, the perfect credit score is 850.
05/04/2023
If you have credit cards with low limits, you may want to increase your credit limit. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about how to get a higher credit limit.
04/25/2023
Revolving accounts and installment accounts are both important for building credit, but they do not have an equal influence on your credit score. Which type of account is more powerful for your score?
04/12/2023
There’s never a bad time to start building good credit, but there is definitely a good time to start: as early as possible. So when can you start building credit?
03/15/2023
How important are closed accounts when it comes to your credit score? Perhaps more than you think. Let’s shed some light on the question of how closed accounts can affect your credit.
