Why And How You Should Check Your Credit Report

It's the key to qualifying for a loan, and the secret to lower interest rates and get better deals on insurance.

It can be the difference that tips the scales in your favor when you're looking for a job.
The information in your credit report is gathered and sold by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), which includes:

• Personal identification and employment

• Credit payment history

• Requests for your credit report in the last one to two years

• Matters of public record, like bankruptcies and foreclosures

• You’re unemployed and plan to be job hunting within 60 days

• You’re receiving government assistance

• Your report is wrong because of fraud

• Circle disputed items on your report

• Explain what you believe is wrong, and ask them to correct or delete those items

• Attach copies, not originals, of documents that support your claim

• Make two copies of the entire package. Mail one set to the CRA and one to the company that provided the incorrect information. Save a copy for your files

• Send everything by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep the receipts

• Expect a fix. The CRA will send you the results of their investigation and a new, improved credit report

The most important financial move you can make this year is check your credit report.

Take immediate action to dispute incorrect information, which includes:

How Often to Check Your Credit Report and How to Dispute It?

The best-known national credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

No one should be more interested in your credit report than you.

Check your credit report once a year, or before you seek a loan or make a major purchase; and make sure it's accurate and up-to-date.

Thankfully, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is there to help.

It makes sure you have easy access to check your credit report and provide you with a way to correct any mistakes you may find.

Each CRA can charge up to $15 for your credit report, although some states require they give you a free copy or two every year.

Calls to the national credit bureaus are automated, so if you live in a state whose laws allow a free report, there won't be any mention of a fee.

Otherwise, be ready with your credit card.

You're entitled to a free credit report regardless of where you live if, for instance, you're denied credit, insurance, or a job because of information in your credit report.

However, you must make your request for the report within 60 days of receiving notice of the denial.

CRAs will also send you a free credit report if you can prove that you were denied credit.

Repair and Check Credit Report from Home

Study your credit reports carefully.

Be sure everything is accurate and complete.

If there is a mistake, don't panic.

The CRAs and companies that provide information used in your credit report have to correct errors.

The CRAs even send a dispute form with your credit report.

The final step is to ask the CRAs to notify anyone who has received your old, incorrect credit report in the past six months.

Now, you have learned how to check your credit report for free!

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How To Save Money For Your Financial Success No Matter How Much You Earn

According to statistics, most single mothers don't save money.

Therefore, the average single mom owes more than $8,000-$10,000 in credit card debt.

If you are hoping for an improved financial outlook without saving money, you are clearly headed for failure.

You will not achieve financial success apart from the mindset and practice to save money.

Let me state in the clearest terms possible:  WHEN you become financially successful, it does not mean that saving is over.

You can think of any excuse when do don't want to save money such as, "I'm rich," "I have too many bills," "I don't make enough money,"...

I'm going to share with you a principle that is applicable to every single mom who WANTS TO SAVE MONEY to achieve financial success.

You must save money to achieve financial success for the rest of your life.

Don't wait until you get old to realize that you will need more money as you get older than you do as a young person.

You must begin to save money now and make it a key priority in your financial life.

The key principle component of wealth building is:  Pay yourself after taxes and tithes.

It's easy for people with "new wealth," "lottery wealth," even "Internet wealth" to think that there is no need to save money.

This is a common mistake among those who achieve "new money."

In the last decade, many people earned more money than they had in their entire life, and when the economy turned downward, as it always does eventually, most of them did not have the foresight to save money for those inevitable rainy days.

How to Save Money by Paying Yourself?

Proverbs state, "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get."

To save money for your financial success, you must pay yourself with 10-15 percent of your income.

You spend time and effort furthering the mission and profit of the company where you are employed, therefore, you must reward yourself for that effort by paying yourself.

Use Single Mom Debt Talk community to discover how you can:

1. Make money
2. Get out of debt
3. Save money and build your future by paying yourself.

Without a purposeful commitment to pay yourself (first) to save money, it is possible to work hard all of your life and end up with nothing, but debt.

However, by adopting the pay yourself to save money practice, you will be well ahead of the majority of single moms, and on the road to financial success.

One of the best ways to save money is to pay yourself after the government takes it share, and you've tithed 10% to your church or favorite charity.

Tip:  After you start earning a nice income online, you can legally "pay yourself" before the government by participating in a pre-tax retirement account.

Generally speaking, the government, through various taxes, takes at least 15-30 percent of every dollar.

This happens before you even see your hard-earned money.

The good news is:  When you contribute to a tax-deferred retirement plan, you save those dollars BEFORE the government has a chance to take its 15-30 percent.

Ask your tax expert or certified financial planner about how to enroll in a tax-deferred plan.

Decide Now to Pay Yourself First and Save Money

Here is one proven method that is helpful to save money: Keep a record of every cent you spend for several weeks.

I can hear your excuses, but this is necessary to see where your money is going.

You will find that a Star Bucks coffee here, a lunch there, and an assortment of other seemingly small expenses are robbing you of a sound financial future (and the start up money you need for your online business).

If saving 10-15 percent seems impossible, then start with a lower percentage and build from there.

This important save-money-strategy can help you "find the money" to invest in creating your online business, thus possibly build wealth.

Finally, it is important for every single mom to get a realistic picture of where you are in terms of financial health.

Another way to find money in your personal budget is by charting out your equity.

Take the time to create a personal budget worksheet, which will list those items that are assets with positive financial impact such as, savings and retirement accounts.

It is not appropriate for me to assume that all single moms are broke.

However, Single Mom Debt Talk is purely for those who are.

After you finish your personal budget worksheet, you will see on what side of the equation your finances and savings fall.

It may be startling or it may be encouraging.

Either way, you must come to grips with where you are, and where you are headed--if you don't start to save money for your financial success.

Tired of the debt lifestyle?

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Tonza Borden

How To Create A Personal Budget And Spend Money On Purpose

A good personal budget plan and hard work lead to prosperity when you prioritize expenses.

Expenses come in several forms:

Fixed expenses that occur every month at the same amount, such as mortgage, rent, car payment, insurance

Variable expenses that occur regularly, but are subject to fluctuation, such as groceries, gas, utilities

Discretionary expenses that determine your particular lifestyle, such as clothing entertainment and vacations.

After you have looked at current receipts and determined your total expenses each month, compare that to your total income.

If your balance is in the red, you will have no money to set aside for reserves ready for future emergencies, and no preparation for retirement or college for your children.

Perhaps you are like most single moms who, when they hear the word "personal budget," imagine all sorts of constraints and end to the good life.

However, a personal budget is not an arbitrary set of prohibitions; a budget is simply a personal plan, your plan, which leads to prosperity.

It's your own personal road map that tells you exactly where your money is going.

Again, this is your personal budget.

If you love to order take out pizza, put it in your personal budget.

If you like going out to Burger King with your kids, put it in your personal budget.

A personal budget doesn't mean you stop doing the things you love.

A personal budget means that you are now spending your money on purpose, and you've chosen how you are going to spend it.

The Process of Arriving at Your Personal Budget Plan is a Relatively Simple One

Plan your personal budget and work your plan by using the budget worksheet you created to develop your own plan.

This is a simple way to project your monthly expenses and compare that projection to the reality of your income.

If you are spending all you earn, the inevitable result of your lifestyle will be debt.

Remember, when calculating your total income to include all current sources:  Salaries, bonuses, interest, alimony, royalties, rents, cash gifts, social security, etc.

Now, subtract your expenses, your "out go," from your income.

Is Your Personal Budget in the Red or Black?

The previous simple math step will reveal if your plan is operating in the red or has positive cash flow.

If this is the case, go back to your expenses and rework your personal budget.

You must find a way to either increase your income or decrease your expenses.

Once you've determined your plan, or personal budget, employ a method of dividing your money into your pre-determined accounts.

Some single mothers use envelopes; some go online and use an electronic envelope system.

Whether it's an accordion file or a well-disciplined checkbook, use some form of accountability and organize your personal budget.

Now that you know how to create a personal budget and spend your money, support your decisions and follow through.

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How You Can Have Debt Elimination Success

Your Debt Elimination Mindset

Are you drowning in credit card debt and want the success of debt elimination?

According to statistics, consumer debt for Americans is now averaged at approximately $10,000 per person, not including home mortgages.

These are staggering statistics.

For many single moms, debt has become a crisis.

A vast number of people overall, have adopted faulty reasoning when it comes to purchasing goods and services.

If you can afford the payment, you can afford the item.

What many of you are discovering is that you cannot afford the item on payment.

Are you aware that credit card companies are notorious for luring in new customers with low rates, and then raising those interest rates to astronomical levels when a payment is late or missed.

Credit card companies and banks can raise your interest rate even if you are late paying an unrelated bill.

They can simply declare you to be at risk, thus justifying a higher rate.

Remember the Rule of 72.

Just divide the percentage of interest you are paying into 72 and you will find the amount of years it will take for your debt to double.

At interest rates of 18 percent and beyond, the time debt takes to double is very short.

It is clear that debt elimination can never be achieved while paying exorbitant rates of interest due on credit cards.

Debt Elimination Must be a Priority

Debt elimination must be a priority if you are to gain control of your finances.

Here are several key steps that will lead to debt elimination.

First of all, you must make a commitment to stop buying on credit.

I highly recommend you undergo “plastic surgery.”

By that I mean you cut up your credit cards or melt them in a oven set at 400.

If you lack the self-control necessary to cease buying on credit, you must get rid of your ability to do so.

Cut Up the Credit Cards for Debt Elimination Success

Many single mothers argue that they must keep at least one credit card for such necessities as hotel and airplane reservations, gas purchases, and so forth.

That's what credit card companies want you to believe, but it isn't true.

From my own experience with debt elimination, I do not have one credit card to this day because a debit card and/or prepaid card works the same way a credit card does, without using borrowed money with ridiculously high interest rates.

All banks issue debit cards that will accomplish all of these matters, and the money is drawn directly from your account as opposed to being placed on a line of credit.

If you have the discipline to use a credit card and pay off the entire balance each month, then you may find it an advantage to do so.

In essence, you are using the credit card company’s money as a free loan for 28 days.

You must pay off the entire balance within the grace period or finance charges will obliterate this financial advantage.

By creating multiple sources of income online, there will be no need to have credit cards.

Secondly, if you currently have consumer debt, you must adopt an aggressive strategy to pay off those bills.

I recommend you create an debt elimination worksheet.

On your worksheet, you list your debts, excluding home mortgages, in the order of smallest to largest payoff balance.

For now, do not consider interest rates or other factors.

Just list your debts small to large.

Once you have your debts listed, continue to pay the minimum payments on all your debts to keep things current, except for the smallest ones.

Instead, focus all your financial resources on eliminating that bill.

Every extra dollar you can find should go to paying it off.

Have a yard sale, get a part-time job or develop a home business, and focus your attention like a laser on paying off that balance.

Once that bill is eliminated, move to the second smallest and do the same.

You will now have the added resource of the money previously given to the debt you have paid off.

In this way, you will move through your debt, building larger payments and greater momentum as you go for debt elimination success.

Do not stop until every debt on your list is paid.

That is exactly how credit-counseling agencies instruct you to do it too.

I know, because I’ve been there.

Resource for Debt Elimination Success

Related:  Dave Ramsey, in his best-selling book,The Total Money Makeover, describes the benefit of a Debt Snowball.

Lastly, most debt can be avoided if we learn to live within our means.

That takes self-control.

Self-control is an absolute fundamental for wealth, growth and freedom.

Commit today to control your spending.

Refuse debt.

In my case, I prayed and asked God for creative ways in which I could increase my income for debt elimination.

You can have debt elimination success.

You can do this!

Begin today and you will be one step closer to the dramatic wealth-building opportunities that come when you have achieved debt elimination success.

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Tonza Borden

A Quick Way To Deal With Credit Card Debt

Find Funds to Pay off Credit Card Debt

Contrary to what many people hope, credit card debt doesn’t go away without effort.

And, winning the lottery isn’t a solution you can count on to pay off credit card debt.

So, what should you do when you fall behind and debt threatens your financial health?

First, let your lender know you’re having problems paying off credit card debt.

If you’ve been reliable in the past, they usually understand a temporary setback.

The first thing, of course, is to change your spending habits.

Discipline yourself to give up unnecessary expenses so you’ll have funds to pay off your credit card debt.

Then, go to work to get your head back above water.

• Sell off investments. If you catch it soon enough, you may be able to cash in some of your assets and pay off credit card debt before it gets the best of you.

• Rearrange your debt by paying it off with a home equity loan, which I personally don't recommend because that would be borrowing your own money. However, you’ll lower your overall monthly payments because the interest rate on a home equity loan will be lower than interest on credit card debt, and you’ll reduce your tax bill since the interest on a home equity loan is tax deductible. 

• Create extra income. I suggest you find ways, from part-time to full-time work or start an online business such as a niche blog, to earn additional money and use it exclusively to pay off your credit card debt.

File Bankruptcy to Eliminate Credit Card Debt as the Last Resort

Bankruptcy is not pleasant, and it takes years to get your credit rating back, but it will get you out of credit card debt.

Get Credit Counseling to Get Credit Card Debt Relief

Bankruptcy is normally sought only when your credit card debt exceeds your annual income and is multiplying faster than you expect your income to grow.

Credit counselors provide credit education, counseling, and help you get better terms with your lenders.

This is a proven resource that I have personally used.

In severe cases of credit card debt, they can set you up on a Debt Management Plan, which you pay them monthly and they distribute the funds to your creditors.

With a few exceptions, personal bankruptcy basically takes all you own, applies it to your credit card debt, and lets you off the hook for what’s left.

Consider bankruptcy to eliminate credit card debt if your creditors sue.

If you need outside help, I also recommend contacting the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org.

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