Saving Money – Part 2 

By Michelle Black

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you have more bills than money? Money shortages lead to a poor credit rating, marital stress, and the inability to provide the things your family needs.  One of the first things you will want to do if you find yourself in a situation where your budget is unbalanced is look for a way to start saving money. We hope today’s tip will be helpful.

Tip #2: Ask for your bills to be lowered.
Similar to yesterday’s tip regarding asking for your credit card interest rates to be lowered, you can also request for many of your monthly bills to be lowered as well.  Try calling your cable company, explain that you have seen some great offers for satellite TV and that you are considering switching services. However, before switching, you wanted to check with them to see if they could offer you a lower monthly rate. While you are at it, ask for your internet service bill to be lowered as well. I have personally saved money off both of these monthly services just by calling and kindly making the request.

Other monthly bills you may be able to get lowered with a request include your cell phone bill (even if you are currently under contract), your lawn care bill, your newspaper subscription, your insurance bill, etc. By calmly and politely making the request you can save yourself a lot of money. When making the request for your bill to be lowered please keep the following in mind:

1. Always be polite and calm. Getting angry will most likely insure that you do NOT get the bill reduction you need.
2. Explain why you need for the bill to be lowered. For example, “I have seen an offer for a better rate” or “I cannot afford to continue making such high payments and I’m trying to balance my budget.”
3. Ask for a supervisor if necessary. The first customer service agent you speak with likely will not have the authority to lower your bill.
4. Don’t take no for an answer. If the supervisor refuses your request politely explain your reason for needing the bill lowered again and ask “What can you do to help me please?”

Remember to check back with us again for part 3 of our money saving blog series. Saving money can help put you on the path towards a balanced budget and even a healthier credit report! If you need personalized credit or budgeting advice please feel free to give our friendly staff a call at 704-499-9696.

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Saving Money 101 

by Michelle Black

Everyone loves to save money. Saving money is the quickest way for you to move closer to a balanced budget and a healthier credit report. In that spirit we will be featuring a multi-part blog series with some fantastic debt busting, money saving tips for you to start using immediately. If you can put even a few of these great suggestions to use you will see a big benefit in your finances. So, without further ado, let’s get started with today’s tip:

Tip #1: Ask for a lower rate.
Sometimes saving money is as simple as picking up the phone. You can start by calling your credit card companies and ask for a lower interest rate on your current credit cards. (This works best if you have a good payment history on your credit cards.) When you speak with the customer service agent regarding your account the first thing you want to ask is “Do you have the authority to change my interest rate?” If the answer is no then politely request to speak with someone who does that that authority, perhaps a supervisor. Once you have the right person, explain that you have seen offers for other credit cards at lower interest rates – which we all have received in the mail, via internet advertisement, or on TV – and that you would rather stick with your current card company if they are willing to offer you a lower rate. Be kind but persistent and explain why it is not affordable for you to continue paying the higher interest rate. I personally have seen my interest rate reduced from 14.99% to 9.99% by using the exact method above.

Remember, a lower interest rate can save you a ton of money depending upon the amount of your credit card balances. Of course, your best bet is always to pay off all of your credit card debt and keep money wasted on interest for yourself and your family. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to request a free copy of HOPE’s Debt Snowball Payoff Plan which can help you to plan a strategy which can get out of credit card debt for good.  If you would like more personalized advice we are here to help as well! Just give our friendly staff a call at 704-499-9696 and we will be more than happy to assist you. Don’t forget to check back later this week for more great money saving tips!

P.S. We would love for you to join our online community on Facebook and Twitter!

Refer and Win!

How would you like to win a $100 VISA gift card? Sounds great, right? Just send referrals to HOPE during the month of May and you could earn a little extra plastic to use however you like! For every referral you send to HOPE you will earn 100 points. At the end of the month the referral partner who has earned the most points wins! It’s that simple. Click here to start sending referrals now.

Terms and Conditions: Be sure to submit your referrals via email or through our referral page so that you will be sure to receive your contest credits. Don’t forget to let your referral know to be expecting our call. A minimum of 500 points is required to qualify for the grand prize. All referrals submitted to HOPE during the month of May will count toward your contest credits. In order to receive contest credits each referral must be 21 or older, employed, have a valid telephone number, and be in need of credit assistance.

EXTRA CREDIT: Follow us on Facebook AND Twitter for a 100 point bonus! Already a fan on Facebook and Twitter? Have a friend of family member follow us and you can still receive credit.

Where Do Credit Scores Come From?
By Michelle Black, HOPE (Home Ownership Program for Everyone)

Credit scores affect your life in many important ways.  First, anytime you apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or financing of any kind your credit score will be looked at to determine whether you are approved or denied financing.  If you are approved, your credit scores are looked at again to determine what kind of interest rate you will receive.  Credit scores are the #1 factor considered when you apply for a loan.

Since credit scores are the first key to loan approval, let’s talk a little about where these credit scores come from and how they are calculated.  There are 3 major credit bureaus in the United States:  Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian.  Typically, each credit bureau will give you a different score.  The following chart shows the basic makeup of a credit score with any of the 3 major credit bureaus:

Payment History, an individual’s history of paying bills on time, accounts for 35% of your credit score. If a person has a high percentage of late payments on bills then his/her credit score will be lower.  It may sound crazy, but late payments can lower a person’s credit scores more than any other factor including bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession!  One late payment can actually drop someone’s credit score 30-100 points (especially if it is the first time a late payment is appearing on the credit report in a while).

Amounts Owed account for 30% of your credit score.  This factor can sometimes be a little confusing.  The credit bureaus will look at the amount of debt being carried by a person and compare it to that person’s available credit limit.  For example, if you have a credit card with a $500 limit and you owe $490 on the card then your credit score will be lowered.  However, keep that same credit card paid off and your credit score will receive a boost!  High credit card balances can significantly lower your credit score, even if you pay your monthly bill on time!

Length of Credit History makes up 15% of our credit score.  The credit bureaus look at the age of a person’s open credit lines to determine how many points will be awarded or taken away from the credit score for this category.  The older the accounts appearing on your credit report, the better.  Opening a new account can potentially lower your credit score even if you have never missed a payment on the account – so proceed with caution when applying for new credit.

New Credit makes up 10% of your credit score.  This refers to how often a person applies for new accounts.  Every time your credit report is pulled to apply for a loan your score is typically lowered 1-3 points and you do not regain those lost points for at least 90 days.  However, a “soft pull” of your credit report (that is an individual requesting a copy of his/her own personal credit report to review the file) does not hurt your credit score at all.  If you have not reviewed your credit report in a while, you are entitled to a free copy every year from www.annualcreditreport.com. Checking your report at least once a year for errors is highly recommended.

Types of Credit Used account for the final 10% of your credit score.  It is important to have the right balance of accounts on your credit report.  Too many accounts can hurt your credit scores, but so can too few accounts.  Also, loans with consumer finance companies (i.e. paycheck advance loans) will hurt your credit scores just by opening the account and should be avoided.

Have specific questions about your credit report? Our caring credit specialists are here to help. Please contact us via email or call 704-499-9696. We would love to hear from you!

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Every year at tax refund time we have many clients wisely choose to  invest part of their tax refund check towards achieving a healthy credit report. Wouldn’t you love for 2012 to be the year when you finally reach the higher credit scores you desire? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if 2012 was the year when you were finally able to stop those pesky collection calls and possibly even become a homeowner?

HOPE would love the opportunity to help you reach your goals! You can join the ranks of the 85+ HOPE graduates who have completed the program with credit scores healthy enough to purchase a home in just the last 4 months! Call or email us today to schedule your own personal, no obligation credit analysis with one of our credit experts to see if the HOPE Program is right for you. We can’t wait to hear from you soon!