Do you know what your credit score is? How about do you really know what makes up the score? Knowing as much as you can about your credit score and what makes up the number, is so very important. Many employers, insurance companies etc all utilize a consumers credit score to help to determine their desire to work with you. Therefore, knowing as much as possible can only help with being able to understand and manage your credit score. For many situations, your credit score is just as important as your other personal information, so knowing it inside and out is key!

Things that should not impact your credit score:

Having a Low or High Income: How much money you make is not necessarily being reported on your credit bureau, therefor will not be a part of any decisions that third parties are making after seeing your report. However, keep in mind employer information is often times showing on your credit report.

Not Paying Insurance, Utility and Cell Phone Bills: Many insurance or utility companies will pull your credit to see your credit score, however they will not be reporting your pay history with them on your credit.

Missing Rent Payments: Similar to the insurance and utility companies, property management companies will pull your credit before allowing you to rent from them, however if you miss your rent of were a slow payer, you will generally not see any of this on your credit report or affecting your credit score.

Bank Overdraft: Banks make a lot of their revenue from bank overdraft fees, however they will generally not report any issues with overdrafting you had, unless you continued to maintain an outstanding overdraft amount owed to them. At this point they will then send the “debt” to collections who will then try and collect on this outstanding amount. At this point it will affect your credit score.

Checking Your Own Credit: Pulling your own credit score is a great thing because it allows you to know what is on your credit and who is reporting what. However, you pulling your credit score will not affect your credit score. Third parties pulling your credit does affect your credit score and you want to be conscious of who you are allowing to do this. If you have too many inquiries in your credit report, it is a red flag to those that are potentially looking at extending you credit and it is also hurting your credit.

High Interest Rates:What you are paying on credit cards or other debts is no where located on your credit report and is not affecting your credit score. Third parties will only know this if you release this information.

Credit Counseling: This could potentially affect your credit and credit score if the counseling service you are working with is not paying on your bills. Knowing what the counseling service is reporting to your credit report is key so you know what others will be seeing if they are pulling your credit.

Your Age: Your physical age in no way affects your credit score. If you are young and do not have a lot of credit, then that can affect your credit score, but your actual age is not the direct cause of having a lower or higher score.

Now go pull your credit and work on getting that score up!

Are you managing and in control of your credit? Checking your credit report is the first step in the right direction and helps you understand your credit history and current standing – it is also a good idea to watch and make sure nothing out of the ordinary pops up that you were not aware of.

According to Adam Levin, the chairman and co-founder of Credit.com there are five ways for better managing your credit:

1. Only use a fraction of your available credit
2. Use online banking tools to keep a close eye on your accounts
3. Open credit card mail and read the fine details
4. Manage your credit portfolio like an investment portfolio
5. Remember that credit seeps into every layer of your life

To read in detail about each of these tips:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36654400/ns/business-consumer_news/page/2/

To receive a free yearly credit report visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

LeadPile generates credit repair leads, matching consumers in need of help with companies who specialize in helping to repair poor credit.

Have you ever been confused on how to pull your credit report or you thought it was going to be free and it turned out to have fees associated with it? Well if so, you were not alone.

A new law being put into place this week will require all web sites listing or advertising “free reports” direct consumers to the government approved site www.annualcreditreport.com – all TV and radio ads must comply with this as well beginning September 1, 2010.

Everyone is entitled to 1 free copy of their credit report each year from each of the credit reporting agencies ( Equifax, Experian and TransUnion )… So with no cost involved you can receive 3 copies per year! If you have been a victim of identity fraud you are eligible to receive additional copies.

Banks, debt collectors, landlords or those with “valid” interest are the only ones who may pull your credit report. Prospective employers wanting to pull credit must obtain written consent prior to pulling a report. Credit reports sent to employers do not include a date of birth or name of spouses on joint account – this is to restrict discrimination based on age or marital status.

Your credit is your own responsibility to maintain and watch! Take advantage of pulling your 3 reports a year and be aware of you credit background.

Is having bad credit preventing some people from being hired for positions that they would otherwise qualify for? According to some, this may be true.

In theory it has been thought that credit reports can give outsiders a glimpse into a persons reliability and honesty, however with the current economy and jobless rate, this might not be a fair way to judge or determine levels of responsibility. With so many people out of work and unable to pay bills, consistency in financial liability may not be as clear as it once was.

Credit checks may have some relevancy when hiring for positions with authority to spend, access to cash, financial responsibilities, or for an employee with the ability to access confidential information about other employees.These positions all need an individual who has proven dependability and honesty… of course, these are qualities that every employer looks for and hopes that their candidates of choice will hold, but does every job position constitute pulling a credit history? When does the line get drawn and personal information remains personal?

With all the foreclosures happening around in the country, this time could be ideal for those that are looking to buy a home.  However, there are some things that really need to be looked at before doing this.  According to US News & World Report these are the things to take a look at before you consider buying a home:

1. Make sure your financial house is in order

In order to get the best interest rate possible, pull your credit prior to looking at getting a home.   Make sure everything looks positive and get the proper help in order to resolve any outstanding items.  Also, look at your overall financial portfolio and how much more you can handle on a monthly basis.  Don’t go buy a home if you are unstable in your current job.

2. Buy a home, not an investment

There is still a possibility that the housing market will continue to suffer.  Knowing this, don’t go out looking for just a cheap deal.  Get a home that you want to live in and make it a “home”.  Much of our housing economy is in this position potentially because of the number of “investment” properties that were purchased in years past.

3. Be conservative

Don’t go overboard with the future payments of the home you are looking at.  Things are still not stable in our US economy, so be a little on the conservative side with that additional “bills” you take on.

4. Get those concessions

There are a lot of homes for sale right now, therefore getting extra incentives with the home is a possibility.  It does not hurt to ask!

5. Check out foreclosures

Check out foreclosures first and see if there are any home that appeal to you.  However, working with a foreclosure home or short sale home takes some knowledge, so get with the appropriate person who knows how to handle the transaction.

The bottom line is is this is a great time to go get a home, however do your homework first, so you do not become a part of the national statistics of people loosing their homes.  Pull your credit, research home values before moving forward with anything.  It will certainly benefit you in the long run.  Leadpile Lead Exchange is currently working with the home purchase lead type.  These are people looking to buy a home and we are always looking for more companies looking to help these consumers to get that home.  

In recent news the Fair Isaac Corporation is rolling out an updated FICO score.  A FICO score was created back in 1989 to help consumers and businesses determine consumer’s credit worthiness.    All 3 credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax, and Experian) will be implementing this new scoring.  

Some things that are changing with the newly updated FICO score:

1.  Ignoring of small collection accounts

2.  One credit problem forgiven

3.  Changes to authorized users and how it affects your credit score

Things you will want to now pay attention to with regards to your score:

1.  The more credit you use in regards to your balances versus credit limits will affect you more now.

2.  Don’t close $0 balance accounts now.  Keep them open and don’t use them.

3.  You will be penalized if the lenders close your accounts.  To prevent this, charge one time per month to keep activity going if you want to keep the account.

4.  Diversify what credit accounts you have active.  For instance, have some installment accounts (IE- CAR loans etc) AND revolving credit.  This shows you are able to maintain both types of credit.

Fair Isaac is hoping these changes will help with getting a better depiction of credit worthiness.  Lenders will like it more because there is going to be a more precise score of their credit.  Consumers will like it more because if that score is higher, that makes the cost to get more money (loans and new credit) cheaper.  The better your FICO score is, the more credit you have available and the lower your rates will potentially be to borrow money.  This seems to be a win win situation for consumers and businesses.

Leadpile Lead Exchange wants to help consumers and businesses to be connected with regards to any financial matter.  This new FICO score will most likely promote more consumers to want to take a deeper look at their scores and how they can maybe get them higher.  Credit repair companies are probably a really good option to look at to help do that.

Yo Quero Taco Bell?
Annoying or brilliant?

Do you ever watch a commercial on T.V. and just continue to sing the jingle over and over in your head? I know I do till I get to the point of irritating those around me, because I am saying it over and over….and OVER! Some of the most annoying commericals were the ones that had the largest success and some even stick in our minds years later. So is this effective advertising or someone trying really hard to create something that is just so annoying?
I was reading an article in MSNBC in regards to some of the most annoying television commercials being shown. However, while reading this I am thinking to myself, I think humor always has a little bit of the truth to it. If the commercials make you laugh and you remember them after the fact, then I would say that is effective advertising. How about years ago the “yo quiero Taco Bell” dog? That was how many years ago, and I still remember those commercials. See, so do you! That is what the companies are out there to do- MAKE YOU REMEMBER THEM! How about those 3 freecreditreport.com silly commercials? Crazy as they are, that jingle sticks in your head!  It’s a win-win situation:  they get their website known through a funny commericial with a silly jingle, and we get a good laugh and want to see more!

Bottom line is- if you ever want to be effective in marketing and advertising, you have to stand out.
Lead companies, lead exchanges and other online marketing companies need to continue to stand out with how they get their name out there.
Take for instance LeadPile. Leadpile might not have a catchy commercial running during your favorite show (yet), but one thing I can say is that we are the leader (not follower) of the pack in regards to doing new and innovative things. AND who else can say they are The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Marketplace? No one.. I rest my case!

Anyone who has taken out a loan of some sort, applied for a new job, or rented an apartment knows how much your credit score matters.  Think about it, most employers are even pulling your credit.. insurance carriers are pulling your credit… and of course the lenders are too.  What is the big fuss about someone’s credit score?  Well, one thing I have learned over the years is, it is probably one of the most important things in our life! That sounds bad, but really it is.  How can a 3 digit number that no one has any idea how it is made up, have such a large impact?

In today’s economy a lot of consumers are finding out the answer to that question.  People trying to refinance their home are being faced with the fact that their bills have fallen past due and now they can not get a loan.  Consumers are trying to find new jobs because their employers are going out of business. However, they are not getting that job because according to their credit score they are a “high risk” employee who can’t take care of their personal finances.  So, why would they hire you if you can’t even take care of your own bills?  Insurance premiums are going up so consumers are looking for new insurance companies, but finding out that their rates might not have been so bad compared to their new rate estimates they have received.  Why?  The insurance company is pulling your credit for things such as auto policies, because they say that statistics show your credit score has a direct impact on your driving skills(better chances of NOT getting in an accident) and your ability to pay your bills.  They think that those with bad credit scores are going to get in more wrecks and not pay their bills? Unfortunately, there has been some controversial findings that have been known to show some truth to that statement.

What makes up a credit score?  First, you need to know that the range of your credit score can be anywhere between 350-850.  Secondly, you need to know that there are 3 different credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Experian, and Equifax) where your lenders can report your credit history to.  Thirdly, there are a combination of things that make up your credit score such as your payment history on credit cards and loans, your total outstanding debt versus available credit, how long you have had the loans/credit cards open, how many people have pulled your credit (inquiries) and a whole bunch of other “unknown” factors. So now you know who pulls your credit, why people pull your credit, and what makes up your credit score. How do you fix it?

The first step is getting in the right direction regarding your credit is to become educated on everything that is linked with your credit score and what is on your own credit.  Then get with a company that deals with credit repair and walk through the process with them on FULLY understanding that credit report(s), and how you both are going to work on getting it better.  When searching the internet, look for credit repair sites.  

Companies like Leadpile- The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Exchange-  deal a lot with this lead type and understand that the companies buying these leads really are out there trying to get your credit score higher.  Then your credit score does not affect you getting that next job, next insurance policy or paying REALLY high interest rates.