There is one account in your credit report that is a definite driver to higher credit FICO scores. Do you know which one it is? This is where mismanagement can truly drop your FICO scores. It can take years to recover if a mistake is made.

We all get that periodic letter saying that we have missed a payment on a bill and it will be sent to collections. Sometimes, we catch it in time to avoid damaging our credit report. Other times, we do not. This is when millions of consumers panic. Collection activity has changed over the last few years. It is good to know what you are up against.

Can You Check Your Lender’s Credit Scores for Free? In short, the answer is “No” – Why do you have to pay to get your same credit scores used by lenders? It is the difference between lender’s credit scores and credit scores marketed all over the internet. I’ll explain.

Going from a 603 to a 815 credit score! Kevin had a low Classic FICO® credit score of 603. He didn't know where to go or what to do. He heard of My Credit Plan and decided to give it a try. He followed its counsel not knowing what to expect. His results left him stunned when he saw his 815 FICO Credit Score, 212 points higher! "All I did was follow what it (My Credit Plan) told me to do!"

$1.9 trillion – that is a lot of money. When politicians market this amount as stimulus to help all Americans, we have to realize it will help a few much more than most everyone else. President Joe Biden has said every taxpayer will receive $1,400 in this stimulus. There is a problem though. Take $1.9 trillion and divide by the number of United States taxpayers –144.3 million according to the Tax Foundation – and each taxpayer should receive $13,167. There is a huge difference between $1,400 and $13,167 – only $11,767! Where’s that extra $11,767 going? This is where most Americans lose.

The pandemic has really changed the way loans are repaid and how it impacts a person’s credit sanding. Several politicians have asked lenders to skip payments on a variety of loans including mortgages, auto and credit cards. We now have some political leaders asking lenders to not only skip loan payments, but also are asking the government to forgive the education loans for many students. So, what they are saying is a loan doesn’t have to be repaid according to the terms of the agreement, right? Where are we going with this?

Mark was making every effort to raise his FICO scores in order to purchase a home. His Experian (Classic) FICO scores was at 702. He had gone in and opened an account with Experian Boost hoping to increase his credit scores. However, he was questioning that maybe it was hurting his scores.

With the US Government spending money during this pandemic like there truly is no tomorrow, can the government run out of money? One could say, "No", but there is that possibility. It depends on the credit rating of the US Government. In essence, the US Government does have a credit score. How could the credit rating of the US Government impact your personal finances? There are many ways it impacts all of us.

Brian had been very vigilant about protecting his stellar credit rating. He froze his credit report with the three credit agencies. When he purchased a new house, he unfroze his credit long enough until his lender had completed the mortgage. Then refroze his credit reports with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. He made sure that no one opened an unauthorized loan in his name. Then this happens!

When you look at a credit report online at one of the many “free” websites, do you think you are seeing all the information found in your lender’s credit report? Are the credit reports the same or are they different? If they are different, what information is missing from those free online credit reports? To let you know, the credit reports found online are vastly different than the ones lenders use. A credit report found online is called a “consumer credit report” while a “lender’s credit report” is one used by lenders. You need to know the differences. Knowing what is in your lender’s credit report gives you accurate and real time information. The free consumer online credit reports give you a partial glimpse of your lender’s credit report – it does not give you the same information found in your lender’s credit reports. The more important question is; where can you get access to your lender’s credit report and review it?