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How to Get Credit Ready to Buy a New Home
October 26, 2020

How to Get Credit Ready to Buy a New Home

Credit Rating by christie850 comments

When you make the decision that you’re ready to buy a new home, you are going to need to take certain steps to make sure everything goes according to plan. One of the biggest mistakes many home buyers make is failing to prepare and plan for their purchase.

This is a significant purchase, probably the most significant purchase of your life, and it deserves the best forethought and planning you can put into it.

The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure your financial situation is ready for the move. You need to make sure that you are in a strong financial position to get your mortgage.

The better the financial position you start from the better the terms of your mortgage will be, the more debt you will be able to pick up if need be, and the lower your interest rates and finance charges. There are a number of steps involved in getting to the point of signing your real estate forms for your home closing.

You’ll need to get copies of your credit reports. Get a copy from each of the credit reporting agencies, as some will have items listed that others do not. If there is anything negative on your report, try to have it removed. If it is a mistake, simply follow the procedure set by the reporting agency to dispute the item and have it removed.

credit report dispute formIf there is a blemish on your report that is accurate, you are going to have a little more work ahead of you. First, contact the lenders involved in the blemishes and see what you can work out with them.

Some lenders will be willing to make favorable corrections to your credit report in exchange for bringing your account current, or for paying it off if it is behind.

You may be able to secure a new bad credit loan from LocalCashHelp that will start establishing a good record for you. You can also use it to pay off a loan that has delinquent notices and turn it into a good record too.

If you do have to take new loans to clean up some of your credit issues, you’ll need to wait a few months before applying for your new mortgage. You’ll need to make sure the records are cleaned up, and let the activity of new loans age a little to avoid some of the natural caution bankers feel when they see recent activity on a credit report.

Your credit reports will each have a credit score which will be a number somewhere between 300 and 900. This proprietary number system assigns a value to your credit history that indicates a relative measure that indicates your general creditworthiness and risk.

Higher credit score numbers show that you are a better credit risk. The better a credit risk you are the higher the debt load you will be allowed to carry and the better interest rate you will be able to get. It will also even make simply getting the mortgage easier for you.…

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Credit Rating and Your Homeowner’s Insurance
July 10, 2020May 31, 2020

Credit Rating and Your Homeowner’s Insurance

Credit Rating by christie850 comments

Did you know that you could potentially be paying fifty percent more on your homeowner’s insurance than you should be? If you are a homeowner, you are familiar with insurance premiums and you probably shop around, checking the rates of other insurance companies at least once a year or at every renewal. If you don’t, you might very well be spending hundreds of extra dollars a year on your annual homeowner’s insurance.

Homeowners Insurance is very important to your livelihood. Being educated about your homeowner’s insurance is even more important. Many Americans are unfamiliar with their individual policies, the terms, the premium, and what is actually covered. If you currently have a mortgage on your home, you will be required by your lender to carry homeowner’s coverage in order to protect the interest of your lender, as well as your own livelihood. Protection for your personal contents, the structure of the home, and personal liability coverage is usually included in your homeowner’s insurance packages.

What you may not know is that the premiums you are paying on your homeowner’s insurance may be a lot higher than that of another company, simply because your company may use credit rating as a tool in determining a risk factor.

I currently work for an insurance company, however, I will not name names, but I will tell you that it is an A+ rated company that operates in many of the fifty states. Credit rate increases can drastically increase your homeowner’s insurance premiums.

Just recently the company that I work for initiated a program called “Risk Pricing Model”. Basically, this program uses the customer’s credit rating to determine a classification for rating. Credit is not the only tool used in determining the price, other factors are taken into consideration, but the effect that the credit has on the homeowner’s insurance far outweighs the other factors in my opinion.

In the past six months, several of our customers have actually switched insurance companies due to this new program. Customers who fall into a higher risk or lower credit score category have seen increases up to 50 percent in their homeowner’s insurance rates. This is an astounding increase!

A customer that was paying one thousand dollars a year, would now be paying fifteen hundred dollars a year. Keep in mind that none of the other factors have changed. The coverage is exactly the same and the deductible stays the same. Individuals who fall into a higher credit score, lower risk module see a decrease in their premium up to 20 percent. It seems that the people with better scores are in fact getting ripped off. Why give one person a huge penalty and then turn around and give the other person a small discount?

The Risk Pricing Model was developed by the insurance company that I work for to assess risk based on people who have low credit scores and the persistence that “this group” files more claims on their homeowner’s insurance.

I cannot say that I agree. In fact, I don’t agree, not at all. I understand that there are situations where people get divorced or lose their jobs and fall on difficult financial times. I don’t believe these people should be penalized in these situations. I believe that if you have a good payment history and a lack of claims, your rates should remain the same. According to insurance laws, you cannot “penalize” one customer, you have to spread the risk equally.

My best advice to you, as a homeowner is to check for prices with reputable companies and be sure to read through your homeowner’s declaration page at every renewal.

Many of the larger A+ rated companies have gone to credit rating as part of the rating factor on homeowners’ insurance. It is worthwhile to check around other companies and prices. Above all, be educated and be informed.

If you are unsure of how your current rates are determined, set an appointment with your insurance agent for a personal insurance review. Take the time to meet with your agent on one to make sure that your home is adequately covered and that you are getting all of the available discounts that you are entitled to.

We live in a world where every dollar counts. Our retirement depends on it, our children’s college funds, and our peace of mind. If anything, pick up the phone and call your local agent to discuss your rates and what programs your insurance company is using to determine your homeowner’s rates. You might just end up saving several hundred dollars a year in insurance premiums.…

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15 Money Saving Ideas
May 30, 2020

15 Money Saving Ideas

Money Saving by christie850 comments

It seems like each time I go to the store the prices have gone up again.

Everything from apples to zucchini is outrageous in price.

Here are my 15 money-saving ideas. Let’s get started:

1. Every time you go grocery shopping, take a menu with you. Plan your meals two weeks in advance and then write down what you will be cooking that particular week and take the menu with you.

2. Buy only the things you need for the meals that week. This will save you both time and money. Just remember to never go grocery shopping when your tummy is growling at you. Eat before you go so your checkbook will not have its tongue hanging out after you have finished paying.

3. Buy ground meat in the larger package and when you get home with it; divide it up in order to get two meals out of it instead of only one.

4. When you buy grapes, divide them up into snack packs and place them into Glad snack baggies.

5. Make that gallon of milk go farther by adding 1/3 cup of water to one part milk.

6. Use Carnation instant milk in the box.

This is great to use in mashed potatoes and any other dish that calls for the use of milk.

You cannot taste the difference. The instant milk is a fine powder and you just add water to this.

7. Go to your local Dollar store to buy all of your condiments and snacks. You can buy pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, and all sorts of snacks. At a dollar a piece you cannot bat that price at a regular grocery store. Toilet paper and paper towels can also be purchased at a Dollar store.

8. Help make your shampoos last longer by adding water to the bottle as you use the shampoo. You can also do this with your body washes.

9. Instead of buying a package of chicken legs or breasts, you can buy the whole chicken and spend $2.00 less by doing so. You can also use the gizzards and other parts of the chicken to season soups with. If you boil your chicken save the broth and store it in an airtight container and use the broth to add flavor to rice dishes, pasta, and soups. Add chicken broth to mashed potatoes too and bring the flavor out more.

10. Grow your own garden. You can plant lettuce, tomatoes, onions, celery, radishes, and cucumbers. They will be chemical-free too. Nothing tastes better than a fresh veggie right from your own backyard. Cherry red tomatoes are a snap to grow. One little bush will produce tomatoes faster then you can pick them.

11. Grow your own mini lemon tree. Lemons are great to add zest to drinks and cooking dishes.

12. Grow an herb garden indoors or outdoors. You can have an herb garden wither sitting on your kitchen windowsill or if your backyard is big enough you can plant one outdoors. Plant one that is the right size for you.

13. When you buy big bags of chips, instead of leaving the bag of chips sitting around for everyone to dive into when they want a snack what you can do is take Glad snack size baggies and fill several of them with some chips. By doing this each time when someone wants to munch on chips as a snack they can have a baggie of chips and won’t eat the whole bag in one sitting.

popcorn14. Do the same for popcorn.

When you buy a box of popcorn and as soon as you are ready to pop some, take one bag from the box, and when the popcorn is popped take several Glad snack size baggies and fill them up with popcorn.

This makes your popcorn last longer and everyone will not eat too much popcorn each time.

15. If your family likes pretzels put some pretzels into Glad snack size baggies and make every bag of pretzels go farther.

What do you think? Have your own ideas to share? Tell me in the comment section below!…

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Debt Management Companies Offer Plans that Can Help
April 5, 2020May 30, 2020

Debt Management Companies Offer Plans that Can Help

Debt Management by christie850 comments

A debt management plan typically offers a solution in which you can pay off debts at a monthly rate that is affordable to you. Debt management companies don’t lend money or pay off debts.

No credit checks are needed due to the fact that the debt management company is not lending you any money.

The company will try, however, to make sure that you have enough money above and beyond your everyday cost of living to make your monthly payments.

The debt management company will not make any payments for you to your creditors if you are unable to make the monthly payments agreed upon.

meetingDuring the initial meetings with the debt management company questions will be asked regarding your income and expenditures, your money coming in and your money going out.

This is to attempt to make sure that you will have enough money to make the reduced monthly payments and still have enough money left to live sufficiently.

Because you will be making reduced monthly payments it will naturally take a longer time to be debt-free. The debt management plan will use the evidence you provide to calculate the length of the repayment plan.

The debt management plan tries to offer people in debt to become free of the debt in a practical way that is within your means.

It is extremely important for you to be straightforward and honest with the management company so that you can reasonably afford to make the monthly payments agreed upon.

Some creditors may make false claims to refuse to deal with debt management companies. A creditor can’t take you to court for non-payment of your debt while at the same time refusing payments from your debt management company.

You have the legal right to use a debt management company to attempt to repay your debt. Regardless of whether or not the creditors would rather not deal with them in order to put more direct pressure on you.

Debt collectors hired by creditors have been known to make threats. They may tell you that your house could be repossessed or that they will send a bailiff to your house to collect the money.

But, unless the sheriff’s department or the county court orders the bailiff they have no legal right to do this. Some creditors use these threatening strategies to put pressure on their debtors.

Unless these creditors have a court order to follow through on these threats they have no legal right to harass you with these threats.

Making a plan with a debt management company means that you are not adhering to the original agreement with the lender. This will have a negative effect on your credit rating.

Just like once you defaulted on your payments to the lender you broke the terms of your repayments to them, which has a negative effect on your credit rating.

cut credit cardsIt is well-advised that you cut up your other credit cards and store cards until you have completely repaid your debts.

If you try to keep other cards for emergencies and other creditors learn of this it could have a negative result.

They may likely reject your offers of repayment and try to collect their money through court action. Like you, creditors want to be treated equally and fairly.

Creditors do not want to learn that you are working on a debt management plan with another creditor and not doing the same with them.…

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Best 5 Frugal Tips to Save Money
March 15, 2020May 30, 2020

Best 5 Frugal Tips to Save Money

Money Saving by christie850 comments

Are you tired of all the frugal advice out there that is anything but frugal?

Read any magazine or watch any morning news show and you will see advice such as, “Save $200 by purchasing these $100 shoes instead of those $300 shoes!”

This advice is useless to those of us who really need or want to save money – we would never have spent $300 on shoes in the first place!

To be truly frugal, don’t get your advice from magazines or television shows – the best way to learn how to live on less is to take advice from people who are actually doing it.

I’ve compiled a list of the five best ways to save money by living frugally from people who know the real meaning of living on less.

1. Save money by staying at home.

It is almost impossible to not spend money when you’re out and about.

With the exception of going for a walk or bike ride to a park or other free place, you will no doubt spend at least the cost of the gas you used to get to wherever you’re going.

Once you are out, it is very easy to give in to the temptation to buy something to eat or drink or impulsively purchase something at a store.

Staying home is a sure-fire way to save money for most of us.

2. Learn to eat on a budget.

People spend a lot of unnecessary money on food. Buying food at the grocery store to prepare at home is almost always cheaper than getting pre-made food at a restaurant.

Even those of us who are not naturally talented in the kitchen can learn to cook decent meals and save a ton of money by not eating out.

To save money on groceries, a few simple rules are to buy cheaper cuts of meats, fruits, and vegetables in season (or frozen), and only limited convenience foods.

Eating good quality yet inexpensive foods at home is something everyone who lives well on a budget does.

3. Find cheap entertainment.

online entertainmentGoing out to the movies and having cable television can be very expensive.

You can save well over $100 a month by getting a subscription to Netflix or something similar instead.

The library is also an excellent source of free entertainment.

Check out your local newspaper online for listings of free things to do around town. Go outside and enjoy the free sunshine and fresh air!

4. Shop around for the best price on necessary purchases.

It pays to shop around for necessities.

Everything from car insurance to new shoes for the kids can have a wide range of prices.

Don’t settle for the first price you find – look around and you’ll probably find something similar for less.

Frugal people are not shy about negotiating a better deal to save money.

Don’t be afraid to ask your credit card company for a better rate or the salesperson at the furniture store to lower the price on a piece of furniture.

Using coupons along with sales at stores can be very worthwhile once you get the hang of it, but only if what you are buying is something that you need and would buy anyway.

5. Don’t buy the stuff you don’t need.

This tip may sound so simple that it shouldn’t be stated, but it is actually a lot harder than it looks.

We are bombarded by advertising everywhere we go, and it is very effective at getting us to buy things we don’t need.

But every frugal person will tell you that the key to saving money is to not spend it. The next time you think you need a new shirt, gadget, or book, take time to think it over.

You will probably discover that you only want it and can live perfectly well without it. With a little effort, you might find the object you want for free by using the library or Freecycle.

Of course, there are many other ways to save money, but every frugal person I know does these five things. See how much money you can save by choosing to live frugally!…

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Welcome

Christine
Hi, I’m Christine. Welcome to my blog, where I write about personal finance, loans, debt management, and money-saving.

Recent Posts

  • How to Get Credit Ready to Buy a New Home
  • Credit Rating and Your Homeowner’s Insurance
  • 15 Money Saving Ideas
  • Debt Management Companies Offer Plans that Can Help
  • Best 5 Frugal Tips to Save Money

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