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Get smart with your money

Credit Scores

Friday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: The best online budgeting tools. Also in the news: How to choose between a 15 or 30 year mortgage, what to do when your home is underwater, and simple ways to raise your credit score.

The 5 Best Online Budgeting Tools to Help You Save Money
Tools that could help keep more money in your wallet.

30-year mortgage, or 15? 5 questions to help you choose
Deciding which mortgage works best for you.

What to Do if You Owe More Than Your Home is Worth?
How not to drown when your home is underwater.

Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score
It’s easier than you think.

Will Paying Bills Before They Arrive Help My Credit?
If paying bills late hurts your credit, shouldn’t the opposite be true?

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Re-Evaluating your airline miles credit cards. Also in the news: Saving money on school expenses, avoiding awkward money conversations at the holiday dinner table, and finding the best life insurance plan to fit your needs.

Do You Need to Re-Evaluate Your Airline Miles Credit Cards?
Changes to several programs has made some frequent travelers unhappy.

How to Save More Money on School Expenses
Don’t let school supplies drain your wallet.

How to Navigate Awkward Money Conversations at Your Family’s Holiday Dinner
AKA “How to avoid a food fight.”

Tips for Picking the Right Life Insurance Plan
Making sure your plan best suits your needs.

Will FlexScore Replace Credit Scores?
A new way of determining credit worthiness is on the horizon.

Will risky refi hurt credit scores?

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Dear Liz: I need to refinance my home. My credit score has slipped a bit over the last year (still pretty good) and my wife has lost her job. I’m concerned that if we get denied, that will impact my credit score. Some have told me that inquiries from potential lenders can hurt the score but being denied doesn’t show up. What are the facts?

Answer: The credit scoring formula used by most mortgage lenders, the FICO, combines all mortgage-related inquiries made within a certain period and counts them as a single inquiry. (The period is generally 45 days.) Single inquiries typically knock less than 5 points off your scores. The scoring formula also ignores any inquiries made within the previous 30 days. That allows you to shop for a mortgage without unduly damaging your scores.

Being denied credit doesn’t knock any further points off your scores. Given your situation, though — lower income and lower scores — it would make sense to talk to a few lenders before submitting any applications so you’ll have a better idea of whether you’re wasting your time. Also, consider talking with a housing counselor approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (You’ll find a link at http://www.hud.gov.) These counselors keep up with various refinancing programs and may be able to guide you to one that works in your situation.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How to get the credit reports you’re entitled to. Also in the news: Demystifying credit scores, how to master your holiday shopping list, and what kind of credit you’ll need to get a student loan.

I Want My Free Credit Reports
How to get what you’re entitled to.

What to Do When Your Partner Commits Financial Infidelity
What do you do when your partner goes rogue?

Do I Need a Good Credit Score to Get Student Loans?
Is this the one loan where credit history doesn’t matter?

10 Things Consumers Don’t Understand About Credit Scores
Demystifying your scores.

How To Master Your Holiday Shopping List
The sooner you start shopping, the better.

Credit denial: a corporate trick or cause for alarm?

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Dear Liz: A few years ago when buying my son his college laptop computer, I applied for the store card at a big, well-known electronics store (at the encouragement of the sales associate). I was denied. I have never been denied a credit card before. I have eight cards that are always paid off monthly, own my own home and have a satisfactory retirement income and a top credit score. By receiving the card, I would have had a substantial savings on the computer. The denial has bothered me ever since. Was this a ploy on the company’s part to deny me the savings?

Answer: That kind of bait-and-switch happens sometimes, but there may be other reasons you were denied.

When you were turned down, the company should have provided you with the name, address and phone number of the credit agency it used to evaluate you. You should have immediately requested your report from the agency to see if the information was accurate. Someone may have stolen your identity, and credit denials are often the first sign many victims have that there’s a problem.

A collections account also could have torpedoed your scores. Many people discover that a medical bill, library fine or parking ticket went unpaid only when they find the resulting collections on their credit reports.

Ex is trashing her credit scores

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Dear Liz: How long must I be punished for my ex’s poor payment history? In our divorce he agreed to pay the credit cards and other bills. He defaulted and has filed for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. My credit scores plummeted, and recently one of the cards I obtained on my own to help rebuild my credit has dropped me, stating my credit scores as the reason. Do I have any recourse here?

Answer: Not really. As you’ve discovered, creditors don’t have to pay any attention to divorce decrees that say who’s responsible for paying what. You agreed to pay the bill when you signed up for the card. So if your name is on the account, your credit scores will be hurt if it’s not paid.

That’s why it’s so important for separating couples to separate their credit as well. Jointly held accounts should be closed, and any balances transferred to a card that’s in the responsible party’s name only. Otherwise, missed payments and charge-offs will continue to affect both people’s credit for years.