Debt Management vs. Debt Settlement

Out-of-control debt has a way of taking over your life. High interest rates can cause your balances to climb higher each month, and the higher balances hurt your credit score, making it more difficult to obtain financing for important household expenses or personal needs. As the debt grows, so does your stress.

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Establishing or Rebuilding Credit Scores: Options for Moving Forward

Your credit scores are prepared by FICO and other companies and are mainly based on your history of managing debts, such as whether you tend to make payments on time. Your scores play a significant role in your everyday life because the next time you apply for a loan or a credit card — or perhaps a new apartment or insurance —your scores could affect the final decision, including your costs.

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Here’s the Average Credit Card Approval Rate by Credit Score

You should understand your chances of approval before applying for a credit card.

The fact that you need credit to qualify for credit might be the most frustrating credit-related dilemma, but there’s a close runner-up: The only way to know whether or not you’ll be approved for credit is to apply, but too many applications for credit can tarnish your credit score.

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Managing and Securing Your Credit Information

A credit report is a detailed account of your individual credit history, compiled by one of the three major credit reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax). Creditors use these reports to evaluate an individual’s ability and willingness to repay debt. Banks, department stores, the IRS, the court system, doctors, hospitals, utilities, and other companies all submit payment information directly to the credit reporting companies.

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Hard Credit Check Versus Soft Credit Check: What’s the Difference?

Every time someone checks your credit report, the inquiry is logged.

That’s important because too many inquiries over an extended period of time can spell trouble for your credit score.

There are different ways and different reasons your credit report might be checked. Some, like hard credit checks—also known as hard inquiries or hard pulls—might have an adverse impact on your credit score. Others, so-called soft checks, are harmless. Too many hard credit checks in a short period of time could knock a few points or more off your credit score. But no matter how many soft credit checks are run against your credit history, they will have no effect.

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