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About Us: DebtWizards.com is a FREE consumer advocate site giving you tips on establishing credit, and maintaining and reducing your debt, dealing with credit counselors, harassing collection agencies. We also have advice on disputing and restoring bad credit, getting your credit report and avoiding credit doctors. Our college student warnings and loan & consolidation scams information helps you make educated financial decisions.

DebtWizards.Com Credit Rule #1
If you don't know how much you owe your creditors, you have a credit problem

How good is your credit score? Have you taken your credit pulse yet?
Most people are unaware of their credit rating and that's a dangerous situation to be in, because often the price you pay for car insurance can depend on how good or bad your credit history is. The APR you pay on credit cards, and even your ability to get a job can be affected by your credit score, and especially when you buy a car, and car dealers will walk all over you. They can do this because they know more about your credit history than you do. It should be the other way around. If you are planning to buy furniture, a car, or a home, you could turned down if your payment history is spotty, or even for errors in your credit report. It's the stupid little things like being 30 days late on one bill, or not getting the last utility bill paid when you move out of an apartment that keep you from getting credit later on. Sometimes the bill does not get forwarded to you, now you have a charge off on your credit report for a late or unpaid bill. Did you ever overdraft on your checking account? It's probably on your credit report, and you should see about getting it removed.

Online Sites To Get Your Credit Reports, Scores and Credit Balances

Equifax Instant Online Credit Reports & Score Power

3-in-1 Credit Report with Score Power credit report with your FICO Credit score. Online investigation request.
Equifax Credit Watch credit monitoring service, email alerts of changes to your report.

Equifax is one of the "Big 3" credit bureaus, used by most creditors who run your credit profile. When you apply for mortgages and car loans, banks get your credit report from the big 3 credit bureaus. By using the same credit reporting agency as the bank, you'll be in sync with what they see. Inferior credit bureaus may not have all the information that the Equifax report has, and this could lead to you getting rejected on your loan. The Score Power Package includes your Equifax Credit Profile, the FICO score based upon that profile (also known as your BEACON score), plus a personalized analysis that provides tips on how to improve your score over time, how you rank among other consumers, and how lenders interpret your score.

Take Your Credit Pulse
There is only one way for you to know the current state of your credit: Get your credit report. Before financing anything it's a good idea to scrub your credit report, and look for errors or other black marks that you might be able to have removed by asking the creditor who placed it there. Many people are afraid when they apply for credit because they don't know what's on their credit report or how it will affect their chances for a good deal at car dealers, for example. Car dealers use this to their advantage because many people have a bad mark or some minor mistake on their report, such as a credit balance that was paid off, yet still shows a balance on your credit report. How often does this happen: You get an erroneous notice from a credit card or bank saying "we never got your check". You call them up, find out it's their mistake, no problem. But many people are shocked to find out this error made it onto their credit report! My friend found 3 such errors on his report that kept him from getting a car loan until he had them corrected. Many errors can be quickly removed with a phone call to your creditor.

Creditors such as auto dealers use these errors on your credit report to charge you higher interest!

If you have errors on your credit history, you should have them fixed before applying for any type of credit. You are allowed to get your credit report free from Annual Credit Report, sponsored by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, as mandated by the federal government in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act). But all you get for free is just a bare bones copy of your credit report, with not credit score. The 3-in-1 Credit Report with Score Power is the most vital information you need to have before attempting to borrow money, as this will help determine whether you'll be approved for financing, or if you'll get a good interest rate on that financing. For this reason, you're better off forgoing the stripped down freebie report, and just pay for the full blown triple report from all 3 credit bureaus, known as the 3-in-1 Credit Report with Score Power.

You probably have a credit or debt problem if.......

Creditors keep calling you for payment of your bills
You are thinking about filing for bankruptcy (more than obvious by this time)
You don't have a budget worked out to manage your monthly expenses (i.e. Excel, Quicken)
You have to use your credit card to buy groceries because you're short on cash
You have had your phone, water or electric shut off for non-payment
You are forced to keep borrowing money from friends or family to pay bills
You have to pay any of your bills at a check cashing store or a Western Union instead of mailing
You cash your pay checks at a check cashing store
You use your credit card for cash advances at the ATM
The banks won't let you open a checking account. (History of bouncing checks)
You have more than 3 regular credit cards
You carry a monthly balance on your gas card because you can't pay it all off
You carry a balance on your department store cards. (Usually APR is 23-29%)
You withdraw small amounts of cash from the ATM more than once per week
You only send in the minimum monthly payment on your bills
You can't even afford the minimum monthly payment on your bills
You had to drop cable TV or your cell phone because you can't afford it
You owe more money on your car than it's worth. (Upside down on the loan)
You can't afford your car payment, or you are over the mileage limit on your lease
You've never seen your credit history report and checked it for errors and correct balances
When dining with friends, you often collect the cash, and pay with your credit card
You have been recently turned down for credit or a loan
You don't have 6 months living expenses in the bank (experts now suggest a year more)
You are afraid to show your spouse the checkbook, and it is not reconciled
You move around more than once per year because you can't afford the rent
You write post dated checks, telling recipients "Don't cash the check until..."
You make up excuses to your landlord why your rent was not paid on time
You keep hitting up friends and family, borrowing money to pay your bills
You have to ask your boss for an advance on salary
You hide purchases from your spouse or accountability partner
Your cell phone bill is often over $100 with no legitimate business calls, or special exceptions
You're forced to use prepaid cell phone cards, often going days without available minutes
You have ever cosigned a loan or a credit card for another person, family, friend, boyfriend, etc.

Like alcoholism, your credit problems begin with ignorance of tell tale signs and your own denial.
A quick test to see if you have a credit problem is to ask yourself how much debt you owe your
creditors, right now. If you can't itemize how much money you owe your creditors off the top of
your head, then you have lost track and are in for potentially bad future credit problems.

What's On Your Credit Report?

Your credit report has personal information, such as your Social Security number, address, date of birth, and employer. It also lists your credit history from banks, credit cards, furniture stores, car dealers, and others. Bounced checks, late payments, utility bills left unpaid will all come back to haunt you on your credit report. The report gives details of each account, stating if you have ever been late with payments, or delinquent, and lists the current status of each account, and the current balance. Your credit report shows who has made inquiries into your credit report. All those credit card letters you get? Most of the companies ran a credit check on you to match your credit background with their criteria. Then they mass mail to everyone matching the criteria. Also found on your credit report is public records such as tax liens or bankruptcy. Some credit reports even contain information on how you behave at your apartment complex. When we screen potential tenants for our investment condos, we run a credit check that produces this information. So if you pulled a Melrose at your previous apartment complex, this will make it hard for you to get approved for moving into another apartment. Most condo homeowner associations require this background check on all potential tenants.

DebtWizards.Com Credit Rule #2

Your creditors should NEVER know more about your credit history than you.

People With Bad Credit Or No Credit

How does bad credit hurt you? Car dealers are notorious for walking all over people with bad credit, and not just with the interest rate. They charge you 18% interest or higher, while the rest of us enjoy maybe 8%. Many banks run credit reports on all new checking account applications, and if you have bounced checks in the past, you won't be able to open a checking account. The fact that you shafted all of your creditors is coming back to get you. Many cases of bad credit are due to bad circumstances, but most are from pure ignorance. Don't live beyond your means! Plan your life with a budget that has a reasonable and sustainable payments, and has a positive cash flow at the end of each month.

Recommended Reading To Get You Out Of Debt Trouble
If you would like to read more about how you can help yourself get out of debt and
restore your credit history, we recommend these low cost books:

How to Get Out of Debt,
Stay Out of Debt and Live Prosperously

Mundis knows what he's talking about. He was once thousands of dollars in debt and didn't know where to turn. Anecdotes from Debtors Anonymous folks, plus multiple examples from the writer's own life and ledgers, make How to Get Out of Debt an encouraging read, not a condescending one.

10 Minute Guide
to Beating Debt

Covers these debt topics:

Create a reasonable budget you'll be able to follow

Find credit cards with lower fees

Review your outstanding loans, speed up payments

Manage your own credit problems or determine whether you should consult a professional for help

Re-establish credit after you pay off your debts.