Remember your high school teacher warning you about how your bad behavior would end up on your permanent record? That was nothing compared to the impact that a bad divorce can have on your credit scores. Most of us were never as lucky as Ferris Bueller so there was plenty of angst over what was in that file. Flash forward a couple or three decades and that 'permanent file' is hanging over you ... Read More
FICO
Your Credit Score – Going Under the Hood
As a former mortgage broker, I'm intimately aware of the role of the role a credit score has in your financial life. If you have a "good" score, you get the best terms and rates. If you have a "bad" score, you'll be paying more assuming you get the loan at all. When I first started in mortgage banking (way back in the 1980s), there was no such thing as a credit score. Credit reports were ... Read More
Beware Scam Collection Practices
We've all heard of horror stories of someone stealing a credit card or hijacking your identity online to "party like it's 1999" and leaving you with the bill. It's become a cultural cliche and even popularized in TV sitcoms and commercials. But it's anything but funny when a scam is played on you. So prepare to protect yourself and your credit. Credit is vital in this economy. We depend on it ... Read More
Ask the Adviser: Should I cosign for a loan?
Let me offer the classic unsatisfying answer: It depends. Before you offer your John Hancock you should understand the risks involved. Just like any other financial decision, it's best to try to do this without the emotion, drama and angst that can complicate a relationship. Easier said than done, I know. But like your investments, you should do your own due diligence and follow your own ... Read More
Money Rules to Live By – Everything Old Is New Again
Remember leisure suits? Remember bell bottoms? How about skinny ties? Fashion sense changes. And so has money sense over the last couple of decades. But like the old song title: Everything Old Is New Again. Over the past couple of decades we loaded up on debt, used our homes as piggy banks and became part of the "ownership" society investing more in real estate, mutual funds, stocks and our ... Read More
