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Reduce Credit Card Dept
Monitoring your credit by reading your credit report is the No. 1 step to improving your credit score.
Your credit report offers you a complete view of your current and past credit and financial situation. But without a guide, reading your credit report can seem overwhelming and confusing.
Use our easy-to-follow guide to take the frustration out of reading your credit report:
Section 1: Identifying Information
This section contains:
1. Your name
2. Current address and previous addresses
3. Employment information
4. Social Security number
5. Birth date
You may be tempted to read quickly over this section, but take a minute to ensure everything is correct. For example, carefully look for:
- An incorrect house number on your address
- Outdated employer information
- A SS number off by just one or two numbers
Section 2: Account History
Here’s the meat of the credit report. Your account history will include:
1. Creditor name (i.e., credit card company, mortgage lender, bank)
2. Account number
3. Type of account (i.e., real estate, auto, educational, credit card)
4. Date opened
5. Last activity
6. Balance (how much you currently owe)
When your college student comes home for the first time this fall, they’ll likely bring an intense craving for a home-cooked meal, a dozen loads of laundry and (hopefully) a few decent grades. But what you hope won’t arrive on your doorstep this fall is your college student in credit card debt.
College students in credit card debt are no doubt a major problem nationally. According to a study by student lender Sallie Mae, more students than ever before have their own cards, and an alarming number carry a large balance. Study findings include:
• 84% of college students have credit cards
• 50% or more have at least four cards
• The average balance is $3,173
• 75% carry a balance
• 60% are surprised at how high their balances are
So just how do your students get entangled in this mess, and how do you avoid finding your college student in credit card debt?
It’s the end of the month, and you know what that means. Any day now, your postman is going to show up at your doorstep with the dreaded credit card bill.
If paying off your credit cards seems like an insurmountable task, you’re not alone.
A recent report from financial research firm Javelin Strategy & Research found that many Americans are having a more difficult time paying off credit cards. And who can blame them, with the economic downturn, mortgage crisis, and high food and fuel costs? Here are a few results of the study:
• 28% say paying off their credit card balance has become more difficult
• 45% say their ability to contribute to savings has decreased
Paying off Credit Cards
Especially in difficult economic times like these, it’s crucial to develop a plan to pay off credit cards. On the surface, creating a plan seems perfectly simple: charge less and pay down more. But anyone who’s ever been in debt—or anyone who’s managed their own finances for that matter—knows that sticking to the plan isn’t that easy.
Here are 6 valuable tips to help you develop a plan that you can stick with: