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July 18, 2007
Remove Emotion from Money
How you feel about money will impact your credit score. To get a grip on your finances you must learn why you spend on credit. Emotions are the driving force behind most spending. Let’s explore why you might be over-spending and come up with ideas to stop spending frivolously.
Since first entering the business of providing people like you with sound financial advice I have seen many people return their credit standing from very bad to excellent.
The problem most people have that leads them down the bumpy road of bad credit is their emotions rule their spending habits.
Case in point, my friend Susan recently had a relationship breakup and she was feeling down, depressed and lonely. With emotions bubbling over logic was certainly not prevailing.
Susan needed a mechanism to cope with the loss of her long term relationship. Rather than dealing with the emotions and coming up with ways to move on in her life Susan started feeling a sense of “I deserve everything life has to offer”. Off she went to the mall armed with her credit card. Susan bought the most expensive designer shoes, clothing and accessories she could find.
Wow! Did she feel great!
Yeah, she felt great for all of 2 weeks when the credit card bill arrived. Susan was faced with credit card debt of $2500. Susan is now more depressed than ever not only has her relationship broken down now her finances are a disaster.
Sure she has some great looking clothes but she can’t go out due to the credit card debt she amassed in such short order.
Emotional spending is typically what puts most people in bad financial situation.
The fact is life sometimes throws bad circumstances our way and when these down times come it is crucial that we recognize that there are emotions of hurt, pain and suffering going on and to combat those negative feelings our minds start to drift towards a sense of entitlement and deserving. It’s during those moments that we throw caution to the wind and spend like a hurricane.
Next time you are in a place of despair and grief recognize the emotions for what they are and most importantly put that credit card away. Over spending will only lead to longer term pain.
July 06, 2007
Credit Repair for Dummies
I have been talking a lot about the cost of having bad credit. Bad credit puts you in a terrible place because lenders perceive the money they lend to you as high risk debt and therefore the banks must reduce the risk by charging higher fees and interest rates to ensure they remain profitable.
Increasing fees for people with bad credit eliminates the risk of charged off debt. Charged off debt is money that is owed to the bank that they never receive due to inability of the consumer to pay.
Because of the astronomical fees I have been strongly recommending the Imagine Gold MasterCard because of the lower fees. The fees are lower with the Imagine Credit Card because the line of credit is lower so there’s less risk to the bank.
The Imagine card is the perfect card in my opinion for restoring your credit score.
I believe that when you have bad credit it is usually due to lack of financial education.
Today while researching some credit card offers I came across a really cool credit repair and educational package. It’s Credit Repair for Dummies.
Even if your credit is good, you should always be working on increasing your financial intelligence. The Credit Repair for Dummies package is an exceptional educational resource that can help you save money, dig yourself out of debt and repair your credit score.
The package always includes some incredible bonuses such as 101 Ways to Stop the Money Leak plus lots more about saving money. When you save money you can pay off debt.
Hint – Paying off debt will improve your credit score.
Get your credit on track, Get Credit Repair for Dummies and change your financial picture today!
July 02, 2007
Downward Spiral of Bad Credit
Sadly the downward spiral of bad credit starts the day you get your first credit card.
If you came here looking for you first line of credit then read the words of wisdom that I am about to share with you.
The road to bad credit usually begins when you are young and seeking independence. You have been living under somebody else’s roof (likely your parents) and living under their control and scrutiny.
Now you have your first job and there is money coming in. Now your thoughts are I am going to show the world that I can make it on your own.
You apply for a credit card and a few weeks later there it is in the mail, your shiny new piece of plastic.
You feel mature and likely a sense of power that you have never felt before.
Everything starts off well and you use your card responsibly and pay the bills on time.
Then the dangerous part of having a credit card comes into play. You start thinking to yourself that you have been responsible for a while and you begin to get a little lose with your credit card purchases.
You start thinking “I work hard, I deserve to reward myself with something special”.
That’s fine once. But the problem has just begun for you. The tight control of credit card spending you had in the early days of being a new cardholder starts to slip away and you find yourself more and more telling yourself you deserve to treat yourself again and again and again. I think you get the idea.
Then after a month of free wheeling and high rolling on your credit card the reality day comes. Your bill arrives in the mail.
That’s fine, you can still make the minimum payment so you are at ease.
Now another month of free wheel spending passes and there’s another bill in the mail. This time it’s a bit tougher to make the minimum payment and you have to start cutting other costs to service the debt on your credit card.
It’s this scenario that I call the downward spiral of bad credit. You started off so great but then your attitude about credit card spending changed along the way. Now you are in a deep pile of credit card bills that will take years to dig out of.
I have been researching credit card offers for several years now and for those of you with bad credit I strongly urge you to consider applying for the Imagine Gold Credit Card. This is the perfect credit card for people with bad credit or it’s their first credit card.
Why I strongly recommend the Imagine credit card is simple. The line of credit offered by Imagine is low and hence prevents you from digging a hole larger than something you can climb out of.