Let me guess, you have bad credit and have tried numerous times to get a credit card, but are always declined. Unfortunately, credit card companies are now extremely choosy about who they will give credit to. I’m sure following each rejection you are told to apply for a secured credit card. However, a secured card is nothing more than a flashy name for a debit card. You will have to part with money before you can spend it!
The first option will always be to approach your own bank. You may of had a checking account with them for a number of years and therefore have built up some sort of a relationship. It will especially help if your salary is deposited directly into an account at your bank. You would hope that your own bank would be far more sympathetic to your plight!
What if you don’t hold a bank account or worse your credit history with your bank is poor? Your other option will be to seek a bad credit lender. Due to the current financial climate more of these types of lenders are beginning to surface. Often they will supply unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit.
Usually they will ask for some documentation from you to assess what your personal situation is like. You may be asked to provide your latest paychecks, bank statements and evidence of your other forms of credit. You can expect to be charged a slightly higher interest rate than someone with a good credit rating, but the difference should not be that noticeable.
Although these new lending companies will happily provide unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit, you should also be very aware of some unscrupulous lenders. There are organizations out there who will happily provide you with any form of finance, but will have outrageous terms and sky-high interest rates. The best piece of advice i can offer, always read the small print and know exactly what you’re getting into!
By: Sam Renstaff
Posts Tagged ‘Checking Account’
Unsecured Credit Cards For People With Bad Credit – What You Should Do to Get That Necessary Finance
November 9th, 2009How to Improve Your Credit Score – Personal Finance Basics
November 3rd, 2009
The health of your credit score is incredibly important to your finances for a number of reasons. To begin with good credit scores are exactly what banks are looking for when deciding whether or not they will lend you money. More often than not insurance brokers or landlords often look into your credit when determining whether or not to choose you as a potential client or possible tenant. This article will describe to you a number of ways of improving your credit score and will assist with your personal finance basics.
1. Pay Your Bills On Time
The reason why this is first on my list is because this is likely the most important rule to follow when trying to boost your credit score. If you visit a bank and want to apply for a home mortgage the first thing the bank will search for is if you regularly make bill payments when they are due. These bills include everything from your cable, home or cell phone, credit card or any other types of bills. Your credit score will directly reflect if you pay for, miss or are late on your bills. If they discover that you always miss or are late for payments, there is a good chance they will not approve you for the loan.
Helpful advice so you will make every bill payment:
-Create a new checking account and allocate enough cash at the beginning of each month for your bills so you always have enough.
-Create automated email reminders a few days prior to when your bills are due.
-Create automatic payments through your online banking.
-Keep a written calendar of when each bill is due. Update and check it regularly.
-Purchase everything possible with cash. Not having a credit card means one less bill to forget.
2. Never Let Bills Go To Collections
This may seem very simple but these collection agency’s exist because thousands of people allow their unpaid bills to go this far. You can’t forget about your bills. Your bills won’t just disappear. If just one of your unpaid bills go to collections you will have to pay surcharges, major interest and your credit rating will be tarnished.
3. Keep Credit Card Balances Low
The most simple of personal finance basics is if you must use a credit card, keep the balance at zero or as low as possible. The less of your available credit you use the better. The number that most reflects your credit score the most recent balance on your statement. Even if you pay your bill in full every month you should never exceed more than 30% of your available credit. The less you use the better.
4. Use Old Your Credit Cards
This may seem a bit odd but try not to switch from one credit card company to the next. If you jump around and continually open and close credit cards your credit score can be adversely affected. If you can use the credit card you got when you were 20 and stay with it. If you primarily use a different credit card, attempt to keep your old cards active and use it every once in a while. Make certain you pay it off in full each time.
5. Check Your Scores Once A Year
Credit scores can change fast. One day everything may be going well and tomorrow your credit score might be awful. Looking into your score each year is a personal finance basic tip we all should follow. This will allow you to correct any mistakes that the banks or you might have made. Keep in mind, if you check your credit rating more than once a year or on a regular basis it will affect your scores negatively. Checking once a year is your best option. Be sure to dispute any errors like unpaid bills or late payments when you are certain that they were paid on time or there might be other issues that you could find.
High credit scores create the chance for lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans, personal loans and credit cards. The most simple of personal finance basics you should follow is to maintain the health of your credit score so you will be able to take advantage all sorts of different financial opportunities. The sooner you rectify any issues you might have with your credit, the sooner you will get everything back in order. By following these tips you will be completely on your way to improving the health of your credit score.
By: Brandon Schmid