MoneyWiseWomen

New Credit Card Rules

There's been a lot of talk about the new credit card rules in the past couple of years. The rules which became effective on Monday, February 22 are long overdue to protect consumers. Here's a summary of the changes: 

· If you open a new credit card the bank cannot raise your interest rate in the first year.

· Credit card companies must give you 45 days notice before raising your interest rate.

· If you exceed your credit card limit credit card companies cannot charge a fee unless you signed up for this service. Be sure to read the fine print!

Credit Questions? We've Got Answers!

This past year I had the pleasure of speaking at a MoneyWise Women Conference. It was a fabulous experience. I learned a lot myself from the other speakers!

Some of the attendees in my session about credit reports and scores asked some excellent questions about their credit. Because these questions are ones I get often, I’d like to share my advice here in case it may help you, too.

“Donna” asks: I have a zero balance unused credit card and an active high balance card. Should I split the balances to reduce the amount of available credit I am using?”

Listen to Money Wise Women Get Smart Interviews -- FREE!

I've got some really exciting news about the Money Wise Women Get Smart Teleseminar Series that I just had to share it with you!

 

The Direct Selling Education Foundation is sponsoring next year's series. This means we are offering the Get Smart Series FREE! You can listen live or download the teleseminar and listen at your leisure. AND, there's more -- we're offering two monthly teleseminars focused on financial and business topics. Check out the great lineup of upcoming topics and speakers (see below). Visit www.moneywisewomengetsmart.com to sign up and listen to past interviews. I hope you'll share this with all the women in our life.

 

Warmly,

Marcia Brixey

Your Financial Report Card: Credit Report & Score

When was the last time you requested and reviewed your credit report? If you haven’t done it in the past 12 months, put it on your schedule for January. Your credit report is your financial report card and it’s more important today than it’s ever been. Pretty much everyone is looking at your credit report – potential and current creditors, insurance companies, landlords, utility companies, and even employers. Let’s take a peek at who’s looking at your credit:

We Must Invest in Our Women -- Especially in Hard Times

Today's Seattle Times (October 10, 2010) had an Op Ed about Investing in our women especially in hard times. The authors said "As community members, we too must invest in women. Whether you choose to act with your wallet, your time, or both, your action will make a difference. The critical role that women play in maintaining our families and community demands that we identify solutions that will foster not only an equitable recovery, but also innovative long-term solutions for women and girls -- and ultimately for all of us."

Learning About Credit Reports & Scores from Gerri Detweiler

Last night I interviewed Gerri Detweiler, President of Ultimate Credit for the monthly Money Wi$e Women Get Smart Teleseminar. WOW! Gerri is a wealth of knowledge about everything relating to credit reports and scores. The one-hour interview went by way too quickly! I learned several things from Gerri that I want to share with you.

A Financial Minute with Jenifer: The Credit Conundrum

Conundrum: mystery, challenge, poser, problem, riddle. I think these words fairly well describe the process of understanding one's credit score in terms of how it comes to be, and what you can do to manage and improve it.

Credit scoring is one subject that I have to admit I'm fairly puzzled by. Just when I think I'm rocking along with a great history and the scores to match, a small business loan smacks my score down because the account is too new, and affects my ratio of what I owe to what's available to me. So my scores were high enough to get the loan, but I'm penalized in "credit-land" now that I have it.

Understanding Your Credit Report & Score

If you don't already know it -- your credit report is your financial report card. It's as important to you as the SAT is to high school students. Most of the questions I get after my opening keynote at Money Wi$e Women Conferences are related to credit reports and scores. We normally offer a breakout session on credit reports and it's usually packed. Debbie Leviton with CFA NW Mortgage has presented the credit report breakout session with great feedback.

Debbie just announced that she's offering a five-hour training on understanding your credit report and scores. The training is on Saturday, March 22 in Kirkland. To register or for more information contact Heather Russell at 425-893-8903 or email her at hnew@cfahomeloans.com.

Warmly,
Marcia Brixey

Credit Score 'Lockdown' Privileges now being offered by all 3 credit bureaus in all 50 states

Each of the three main national credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union - have announced that they will offer national freezes which will let consumers 'lock down' their credit histories.  This will be especially helpful if a person is a victim of identity theft.  Previous only 39 states had allowed consumers to lock down their scores.

A credit freeze stops the bureaus from issuing your credit history to a creditor who asks for it.  Since few lenders will issue credit without first seeing a credit score, freezing one's credit information means identity thieves will not be able to use stolen social security numbers to illegally open new accounts.