Lock up your identity, getting it stolen may ruin your life.

Unfortunately, too many people are the victims or targets of a scam at some point in their life, so it’s especially important for us all to be aware of consumer protection products that can help them avoid these crimes.

The FBI offers a comprehensive list of the most common.  Identity theft is high up on that list of scams.  It’s a long list compromised of many things we hear about in the news almost, and unfortunately, every day, including insurance, telemarketing, prescription drugs, “anti-aging” products and reverse mortgage scams.

Financial Examiner.com also offers a fraud information packet of practical tips on a variety of topics to help you minimize your risk of fraud and identity theft, to highlight the need for consumer protection, education and action that may be taken.

One way to guard against identity theft is to order free credit reports and review them regularly to watch for any unauthorized activity that may signal identity theft has occurred.  Credit reports change often, companies report your activity every 30 days in a lot of cases.

Continue reading “Your Credit and Identity. Protect them both.” »

Giving gifts is common practice but many of us go overboard on spending.   Using credit to buy things is easy, paying off the debt not so much.

Laying on the couch after the huge holiday meals, trying to think up ways you are going to buy gifts for everyone on your list, your thoughts will wander to how much credit you have available.   The kids need that new video game and your spouse may have their eye on something special.

Charging gifts on your credit cards is easy, too easy.   Many of us will not consider that because we can we should.   After the holidays are done there are some steps to take to pay down those balances.

Here come the bills from your loving spending spree.   The totals may shock you, the credit card companies make it easy to spend.   With a few steps you can recover from the mounting debt.

Continue reading “Holiday Debt, You Care, Credit Card Companies Don’t!” »

While everyone’s status and state of affairs is specific, just about all of us are in  debt at any given time. This could entail smaller debts like credit card bills or in-store financing, as well as bigger ones like major loans and mortgages.

What this means is that nearly everyone’s life is dependent on a certain amount of credit, and without credit several things that you take for granted will become challenging. The key to your credit position at any given time is your credit report.

This is maintained by a credit bureau. When you fall into default, or neglect payments to your creditors, your credit bureau will be notified and you will find yourself burdened with a low credit rating. Effective credit repair requires many different steps, and is specific to each individual’s position.

A good resolution for most people, in terms of repairing their credit rating, is debt consolidation.

Continue reading “Credit Repair Using Debt Consolidation” »