A fight for the ages. Watch these two personal finance experts duke it out. Okay, just kidding, although that would be a match worth watching. Since we are unlikely to ever get these two together to prove their worth in a ring, octagon, or any other fighting arena, we’ll have to settle for letting their
What if I told you that you could get your FICO score for free? Well, you can. While many banks and credit cards offer free FICO scores, there’s one source where you can get your FICO Score 8 for free without signing up for a new checking account or credit card. How to Get a Free FICO Score
Adding a tradeline to your credit report can significantly boost your credit scores. A single credit score could be easily increased by 20-100 points! Although, the exact point increase will depend on the current state of your credit reports and what kind of tradeline you are opening. When you are looking to add a tradeline
Achieving the score you want may take a year or more, but it all depends on which secured credit card you choose and how well you manage it. How Long Does It Take to Build Credit With a Secured Credit Card? Generally speaking, it will take at least 3 months for you to see a
Whether you have bad credit or no credit, having your rent payment information reported to the 3 major credit bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian — can be a great way to give your credit score a boost. But how do you get payment information to appear on your credit history? Rent reporting is not
Self Financial offers a credit building program to their clients that is meant to help them achieve their financial goals. But problems with credit do not have a one-size-fits-all solution. Despite thousands of happy customers, some of their clients have been less than happy with their credit builder account or secured credit card. And they
Homeownership is the American Dream. At least it used to be. Some of the shine wore off after the 2008 housing crash. For the first time, many Americans began to see how buying a home wasn’t the good investment they thought it would be. When you look at buying a house in the cold light
Most well-known credit cards on the market, like the ones you see TV advertisements for, are unsecured credit, meaning the lender offers you a credit limit based on trust (and your credit score). The lesser known credit card option is secured credit cards. These credit cards are backed by collateral, usually in the form of
You pay your bills on time every single month, that should help your credit right? Not necessarily. Only bills that appear on your credit report can help you build good credit. This usually includes payments for loans and credit cards, while other types of bills, like rent payments, aren’t normally a part of your credit
You have committed to improving your bad credit by opening a Self (formerly Self Lender) credit builder account and are excited to see your credit score begin to rise. But the first time you check your credit score, you find out that it has actually decreased. Wait, what happened here? While a credit builder loan
