Lenders see credit score as a major factor in getting approved for a home loan, auto loan, personal loan, and additional credit cards, so it is important to save a solid credit score.  It does not have anything to do with income level; someone that makes $30k a year could have the same credit score of someone who makes a $100k a year, so although both may not get approved for the highest line of credit, having a good credit score allows the same financial opportunities.  One way to start would be to pull a copy of your current credit report, as you can pull a free copy once a year from the three major credit card bureaus to make sure your credit history is up to date and, with the amount of fraud these days, accurate.  Just because you may have made mistakes in the past, eventually with years of hard work with debt payoff and on-time payment, previous poor credit card judgment can be removed with debt payoff and steady on-time payments.

Being responsible with credit is very important to moving in the right credit direction.  If you do not have self-discipline to stop using cards, then they should be cut up right away to prevent use.  If you find yourself charging more than what you can pay off in a month then you need to stop using immediately, as statement balances carrying over with interest will only continue to set you back.  Next, begin a strong push to pay off this debt.  Pay off the card with the highest interest rate first.  As you stop using the cards and pay down each month, it is important that each payment is made on time, as payments that are thirty days late is reported to credit bureaus, as well as being late could jump the APR to ridiculous levels.

Now that you have a plan of attack and begin a course of action, you might ask when you can start to see positive results.  Although it may not seem like it right away, any reduction in debt each month is a positive.  Patience is important, as credit scores will increase each month as debt is reduced and payments are made on time.  Going from a ‘poor’ to an ‘excellent’ score will not happen right away, but with the right discipline, your credit mistakes will be a financial burden of the past.

One of the last things that most people want to do is talk with debt collectors or creditors but, if you find yourself falling behind on your bills and your cell phone is ringing off the hook, it might be a good idea to talk with them because, in many cases, you’ll find that they’re quite willing to work with you.

Below are 8 of the Top Tips for dealing with debt collectors and collection agencies. Enjoy.

1) Whatever you do, avoid drama at all costs. The simple fact is that if you lose your temper you probably won’t get anywhere, so try to stay calm and, if you find yourself losing your cool, ask the representative call you back at another time. Also, you can tell them that when they call back you’d like to record your conversation, something that usually puts them on their best behavior.

2) Make sure to take copious amounts of notes. When you’re on the phone you should either have a pen and paper handy or, if you type fast, a computer or tablet. Take down the name of the person you talk to, the time and date you talked and a good bit about what you discussed. This can help you to take a lot of the emotion out of your conversation and also have a record so that, during their attempts to collect on your debt, you’ll know if the creditor or collector actually broke any local, state or federal laws.

3) If you’re married, stick to any story that you come up with, especially if it stretched the truth a little bit. While the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t really care about why you can’t pay your bills, if you have a hardship situation they might be more inclined to help you get it straightened out. With that in mind, it’s good to be as consistent as possible, especially if you’re married, so that you don’t make any mistakes that cause your debt collector to believe you’re not being truthful.

4) Get everything that you talk about in writing. If and when you come to payment arrangement with your creditor, you definitely should get everything that they agreed to in writing before you pay them a dime. If you don’t, and pay them before anything is written down, it will be your word against theirs and might end up causing more problems than you originally had.

5) Ask as many questions as possible and don’t shy away from asking more. Simply put, the more you know about what your creditor or debt collector is planning, the more you can plan to deal with it.

6) Do your best to deal with creditors, not collection agencies. This one is quite important. If at all possible, trying to take care of everything with your creditors before they send bills to a collection agency. The fact is that even though late payments will negatively affect your credit report and your credit score, if your account is sent to a collection agency it can cause even more damage.

7) Before signing any agreements, know what you can afford to pay. If you can come up with a lump sum to be able to resolve your debt, you can usually negotiate a better settlement. Once that’s done, you can agree on a payment plan but only if you understand the total amount that you will have to pay.

8) Lastly, don’t just read but save all your mail from any creditors or collection agencies. When you get it you should first read it fully, then save it in a special file just in case.

One last note; while there are many companies out there that tell you that can help you to deal with credit companies and collection agencies, most of what they offer can actually be done on your own for much less money.

Unless you’ve been stuck on a desert island for the last 15 or 20 years, you’ve probably heard about the Nigerian prince email scam and probably have had a laugh or two about it with friends and family. The fact is however, some of those friends and family are still falling for this “pay me now, get millions later” scam that, if the Boston Globe is to be believed, has been around for over 200 years.

Of course most new scams today are a bit more cleverly disguised than this one, because let’s face it that makes them more effective, but it seems that even the oldest and most obvious of scams are still being used with, unfortunately, great success. Today’s blog will update you on four of the top scams that have been around for ages and should definitely be avoided like the plague. Enjoy.

The first is what’s known as the “grandparent scam”. The fact is, most scams work because they take advantage of people’s emotions including desperation, fear, greed and concern. With the elderly, concern for a family member is combined with confusion about the facts, something that makes it much easier to scam grandma and grandpa. Most of these scams involve making a call to an elderly person’s home and claiming to be a child or grandchild in trouble and needing money fast. This particularly cruel yet quite effective scam relies on the fact that the average grandparent will do anything for their children and grandchildren.

The “IRS phone call” scam is second on our list and typically involves a phone call from someone claiming to be a representative of the IRS and demanding a payment immediately, using the threat of police involvement and jail time to get the listener’s attention. If you receive a phone call like this you should definitely hang up right away and never share any important information with anyone claiming to be from the IRS unless you have made the call to their direct number yourself. You can also go to IRS.gov to look up contact information if you do have issues with your taxes, and always keep in mind that if you get an email claiming to be from the IRS it’s not from the IRS because they don’t send emails.

In third place on our list of top scams is the “Disaster scam”. This scam usually comes in two flavors, the “fake charity” scam and the “click trap” scam, both of which usually begin in the wake of a disaster like a tornado, hurricane, flood or fire. These scams take advantage of the average person’s propensity to give willingly to help victims of these disasters who, unfortunately, then become victims themselves. The fact is, if you’re keen on donating to an organization or charity that has been erected in the wake of a disaster, you should research it first to make sure that it’s legitimate because, unfortunately, there are plenty of fake organizations out there that will take your money in a heartbeat and donate it to their favorite charity, themselves.

Keep in mind that sometimes these “disasters” can also be things like the recent release of nude photographs of celebrities online.

Last on our list is the “Debt collection” scam. Like most other scams, this one starts when the victim gets a phone call from a fake debt collector. Since most people hate dealing with debt collectors to begin with, dealing with fraudulent scammers who, in most cases, are using threatening and relentless language, can be even more stressful. The fact is, even real debt collectors can sometimes be as unpleasant to deal with as fake ones but, no matter who’s on the phone, keep in mind that you’re entitled to written confirmation about any debt that you might have. If the caller refuses to provide that, the chances that you’re dealing with a fraudulent debt collector become much higher.

Hopefully this information will allow you to avoid these scams in the future, and your families and friends as well. In fact, sending a link to this blog to all of your contacts might be one of the best emails that they get today.

Unfortunately we live in a world where scammers are busy every day trying to cheat honest consumers out of their hard-earned money. Many people believe that scammers prey on the elderly only but, the fact is, there are many investment scams that target affluent, intelligent people. Below are a number of the worst, in no particular order, that you definitely need to watch out for if you’re looking for a vehicle to invest in. Enjoy.

 

Investment Scam #1: Currency Scams

Because of the fact that they have the potential to bring high returns, are exceptionally complex and bring a bit more credibility, currency scams have become extremely popular with criminals.

 

Investment Scam #2: Ponzi Schemes

This scam takes the cake for being the one that has stolen more money for more people than any other type of investing scam in the world. Early investors in a Ponzi scheme are actually paid with the money that later investors put into it, making them believe that they have an incredible investment that they then tell their friends, family and colleagues about. Without excessive demands for distributions, a Ponzi scheme can perpetuate itself for decades but, when it all falls apart, all that money disappears.

 

Investment Scam #3: Promissory Notes

Sold to senior citizens looking for a high interest rate and investment with low risk, promissory notes look like an excellent investment choice. Because of the fact that there aren’t any actual investments however, they are definitely not.

 

Investment Scam #4: Precious Metals

Like investing in currencies, investing in precious metals is very “exotic” and seem like a great idea. The only problem is, no actual precious metals like gold bullion, silver coins and so forth actually exist. Purchasing interest in a “gold mine” is no better, especially when they don’t produce any gold.

 

Investment Scam #5: Prime Bank Scams

If you think that the wealthy have exclusive investment opportunities that the general public doesn’t have access to, you’re a prime target for a prime bank scam. The wealthy don’t have any access to better opportunities than everyone else, but it sure sounds like a good idea. It’s not.

 

Investment Scam #6: Investment seminars

The average investment seminar is only making money for one person; the person presenting the seminar. Let’s face it, if the person who was giving that seminar had used their own ideas to get rich, what would they be doing staying in crappy hotels and wasting their weekends talking to strangers and trying to convince them to purchase their books, lectures and DVDs?

 

Investment Scam #7: Life Settlements

Because these sound like a great investment, many seniors fall for them. The newest one, Senior Settlements, purchase interests in the death benefits of healthy people, but the fact is that it’s extremely difficult to predict when someone is going to pass away. What happens next is that any money you invest it is tied up for years, which is never a good idea.