Kristy's Blog

Just the other day I was talking to a friend of mine who had gone through a very messy divorce which ultimately caused her to file for bankruptcy. She lost everything and was basically starting from square one when it came to credit and improving her credit score. She asked my advice on applying for […]

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If you have a debt in collection, paying off those debts may not be very high on your priority list. A few basic internet searches will teach you how to force debt collectors to stop calling you and stop sending you payment demands and paying those collectors may no actually help your situation: the simple […]

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One of the most popular questions asked about credit is “How many points will I lose/gain if X happens?” If you were trying to repair your credit, it would be good to know what “baddies” on your credit report are doing the most damage and target those items first. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to absolute […]

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Right at the bottom of your credit report, you’ll probably notice a section called “credit inquiries.” And while these footnotes might look innocent, they could be hurting your credit score. Fortunately, there is a solution. What Are Credit Inquiries, and How Do They Affect My Credit Score? When a bank, lender, or other business entity […]

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. The middle class has been in the news a lot lately thanks in part to the debates emerging around the 2016 presidential election cycle. Most notably Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has said he is stumping for the working class and wants to fix the “rigged economy” we live in. Meanwhile studies have shown that […]

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by Otto Baynes Most types of large loans require you to have significant income and credit history built up to secure them. Student loans are an aberration in the lending world; at age 18 you can begin securing loans in the tens of thousands of dollars with no credit, no collateral, no income and no […]

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Credit Sesame recently published a study showing that men in general have better credit scores than women. The study, taken by surveying 2.5 million of their 7 million members, found: Men have more debt, yet higher credit scores. The average credit score for men was 630*; for women it was 621. Men’s average debt was […]

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Q. I recently applied for a mortgage and was denied because my credit score was under 600. I was surprised to hear this because I have no debt beyond my car payment which has never been late in the 4+ years that I have been making car payments. I got rid of all my credit […]

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Debt Collection, Identity Theft, and Imposter Scams Remain Top Categories of Complaints Received by FTC in 2015 Debt collection, identity theft and imposter scams were the most common categories of consumer complaints received by the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network in 2015, according to the agency’s new data book. While debt collection complaints rose […]

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It’s hard to believe how some things have changed during our lifetime. Not long ago, we used to hurry home to watch our favorite shows on low-definition televisions, but now we stream high-def programing on demand through the Internet onto any device with a screen. In addition, we now have our choice of dozens of […]

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