Have you found yourself in a downward spiral trying to get caught up on bills, yet only finding your debt climbing higher and higher? Unfortunately, that is a reality for many people in society today. The amount of debt per family in the United States is at an all time high. This type of spending behavior and financial planning will lead you to have bad credit. That will only add to your cycle, as you will find your interest rates for major purchases and credit cards with climb as your credit rating falls. Thus, you will struggle more and more financially.
Individuals find themselves with bad credit for a variety of reasons. No one really sets out to have their finances in a mess. Some simply do not know how to budget their finances and over spend. Others find their finances changing do to a loss of employment, illness, divorce, or death. For others, it is a habit such as gambling, online pornography/phone sex, drugs, or alcohol that leads to bad credit because they are not using their income to pay their debts.
What can you do when you have bad credit? You have several options available. First, it is always important to contact lenders when you can’t make your payments on time. Most will work with you to find a solution that works. They want to get paid, so they are often willing to adjust minimum payments. The solution will depend on the lender, the type of payment, the amount owed, your payment history with that individual lender, and the situation that led to your inability to repay the lender.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by bad credit and a pile of bills you can’t pay, there are credit counselors available to assist you. There are many programs available that allow you to consolidate all of your debt into one loan. Often, that program will contact your lenders to work out lower interest rates. It is important that you check to be sure the program is reputable as there are some fly by night programs that will take your money and run. The Better Business Bureau can assist you with such research at no cost.
Regardless of why you have back credit, it is possible to slowly build it back up over time, even if you have had to file bankruptcy. You may find yourself having to pay higher interest rates, but doing so will help you rebuild your credit worthiness. A secured credit card is also a way to do this. It is different from a regular credit card as you must deposit funds to be able to use it. For example, you deposit $500 to the credit card company, and you are issued a credit card with a limit not to exceed $500. This protects them from the possibility of non-payment on the account.
Criss Lee
http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/applying-for-credit-card-with-a-bad-credit-rating-75748.html
Is it better for my credit rating to cancel a credit card before applying for a new one?
or apply for the new one while the old acct is still open?
also what is the recommended amount of time to keep a credit card acct open for most benefit to credit rating?
no. You should apply for a new one and then cancel the other one. The more credit you have, the better your score (depending on if you actually use it and pay on time, of course). As for keeping a card open, if you don’t use the card and pay it off, your credit will not get better. Buy things that aren’t too expensive and then pay them off. Don’t buy things like food with credit cards, that adds up and leads to problems. If you’re good about paying on time, your credit score will go up and you’ll be fine.
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No! In almost all cases canceling an existing card will harm your credit score.
How can this be you ask? Because a big part of your FICO score is based on a ratio of how much of a credit balance you carry vs. your total available credit. The lower that ratio the better. But if you cancel a card you lower your available credit and thus increase your ratio.
As long as this card doesn’t carry an annual fee, it doesn’t harm you. Cut it up if you want, but don’t close the account.
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canceling a card before applying for another won’t hurt your credit. holding onto a card for a long time and maintaining it well will help your credit.
http://www.weeklybloopers.com
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Keep the card, make sure all the debt on it is paid off, and keep the account open, even if you never use it. The longer you have the card, the better it will be for your credit score. Also, try to apply for as few cards as possible. If you have a lot of applications, and tons of rejections, it will look bad on your credit.
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no keep all accounts open for at least 12 months or longer the longer open paid as agreed the better for your score as long as you keep them below 30% of the total allowable credit
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actually, closing the old one may be a mistake.
What the lenders want to see is a positive rating (repayment) for long periods of time. So keep the current card open and leave it open. Charge something small every so often and pay it back in two payments. So, you charge $50 today and pay $40 when the bill comes. Then pay the balance a few cents interest after that.
If there is nothing wrong with the current account-don’t close it. Closing and opening accounts that are similar will not help your rating at all.
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15 years banking and volunteer financial counselor
Just use the credit card for shopping and pay it in time, and your credit score will grow. Here is some most popular credit card offers to establish credit – credcards.maclenet.com
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