Credit Scores

Credit Scores

Holiday Credit: 5 Steps to Prepare for Shopping Season

Holiday Credit I purchased my first gallon of eggnog today, which officially marks the beginning of the holiday season in my mind. Let the overspending and overeating begin! Chances are you'll kick off the holidays this week with a tradition or two of your own. And if you're anything like the majority of people in this country, at least part of the excitement will include shopping like a crazy person. But before you hit the malls on Black Friday or your favorite websites on Cyber Monday, you may want to follow these 5 steps to make sure you're well prepared for the full-frontal assault your wallet is about to take.

Why Good Credit is So Important

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You grow up learning that good credit is a near-necessity in life. But the older you get, the more people you meet with bad credit.

They are your friends.

They are your family members.

They are people you like and you respect and you look up to. And it's confusing when they seem to be getting by just fine, even with hefty debts and a bad credit score.

For some, dealing with bad credit is just a part of life. But they are missing out on a lot.

How to Destroy Your Credit Score in 3 Easy Steps

Credit Cards Credit cards can be a major pain in the neck. With annoyances like payment dates, interest charges, and annual fees, it's easy to become fed up. So after years of headaches, you’ve decided to do away with credit cards once and for all by destroying your credit.  While we here at Creditnet would strongly advise against this decision, this is America, so who are we to stop you from doing what you want?  In all honesty, you’ll be happy to know that despite spending all those years garnering an excellent credit score, demolishing it can be easy as pie.

How to Protect Your Credit from Identity Theft

Black Friday is just around the corner!  And whether that conjures up feelings of intense excitement or the urge to lose your lunch, the fact is you'll probably spend more time over the next few months than any other season wandering through crowded malls and surfing the web for the perfect gift. To an identity thief, this means one thing—extra opportunities to nab your credit card information and put a real damper on your holiday cheer! So be a smart shopper this year and take some additional precautions to protect yourself from identity theft and ensure your bank accounts, credit reports and credit scores stay safe and sound.

Free FICO Scores Coming Soon!

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There's a lot of free credit scores floating around the Internet, but as I've written about in previous posts, none of them are actually credit scores that matter. Often advertised by the credit bureaus themselves, these scores may give you a rough estimate of where your true FICO scores stand, but that's about the only purpose they should serve.

If you ever want to know your real FICO credit scores, the ones the vast majority of lenders rely upon when assessing your credit risk, the best option has always been to purchase them directly from myFico.com. And while this is still the case, many consumers will now have a way to get a peek at their FICO scores for FREE.

Don't get too excited though—it's not as great as it sounds. Here's how things have changed.

Should We Get A Free Credit Score Each Year Too?

We can already get our "free" credit reports through annualcreditreport.com—one from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax each year. Now, a lot of people think consumers should be entitled to a free credit score too? Not a fake one that lenders wouldn't ever use to asses our risk, but a real credit score that matters. You know, one that lenders will actually consider when determining how much credit to offer, at what rate, and under what terms and conditions.

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