“In a land of Computers and a time of cybercrime, the information of millions rests on the shoulders of Mark Begor’s team—the name of the company, EQUIFAX.” The phenomenon of cybersecurity breach has become incessant since the inception of the internet, and part of the...
Credit Score Basics A credit score is a three-digit snapshot of your creditworthiness. Several different versions exist, from the ever-popular FICO to VantageScore and RiskView. Some are customized for mortgage lenders while others are customized for auto lenders. The usual range of these credit scores is...
Understanding Your Credit Report Let’s take a look at what the credit bureaus say they know about you. Are you who they think you are? Find the section that shows your name, Social Security Number, and address (sometimes it’s on the first page, sometimes it’s on the...
Student Loans Your Credit Score Your student loans are a reflection of the dreams you had when you started school. But now your financial goals are at risk because of those loans. You may have heard that paying off student loans too fast can hurt your...
Credit Score Myths Credit scores and credit scoring systems are complex and at times hard to understand. As a result there’s a lot of misinformation that floats around the public sphere and as with anything this can sometimes lead to widespread rumors that just simply aren’t...
Insurance Rates and Credit Scores It seems like almost everything is affected by credit scores. Most people probably don’t think about insurance as being something that is affected by their credit scores - what does one have to do with the other? Unfortunately, insurance rates in...
FCRA, The Fair Credit Reporting Act October 26, 1970 was the day the Fair Credit Reporting Act started protecting you against mishandling of your credit information and gave you access to review it yourself. But why is the FRCA a big deal? In the wild days before...
What is a FICO Score? FICO is a software company that invented the credit score. Before it existed, lenders had to review your credit history and determine if you met their criteria for a loan. This could take a while, and was subject to individual opinions...
You don’t have much money saved for a down payment, but you want a home. These days, you have several options for no-down-payment loans. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) both offer no-down-payment loans, and the Navy...
The credit industry is at a crisis point. On the one hand, inaccurate reporting is hurting credit scores and causing a lack of trust. On the other hand, the scoring system itself is broken. It has proven time and time again that it isn’t a...