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?

No one wants to have a late payment show up on his / her credit report. Nevertheless, it happens. Due dates or recent charges are easily forgotten and before you know it, a 30-day late payment appears on your credit report. Your FICO® credit scores suddenly decline and you are left wondering, “Following a late payment, why does one FICO score for one consumer drop a lot more than another consumer's FICO score.”

There are a few credit scores improvement programs available to consumers. Which program is better for you? Which credit score improvement program offers superior results. At the midyear of 2020, My Credit Plan exceeds other programs such as Experian's Boost. Let's take a look.

Several months ago, I addressed the biggest mistake most homebuyers make. This mistake costs many homebuyers thousands of dollars. You can click on that blog here: https://mycreditplan.org/Blog/the-most-costliest-home-buyer-mistake   There is another – the second biggest mistake - that most homebuyers make. It is nearly as costly as the first one. It is following incorrect advice from those (mainly loan officers) that really do not know the correct answers to your credit situation. It is sometimes innocent, but it also involves laziness and a "how dare you question me!" type attitude prevalent among lenders. It is your money and don’t you want to fight for a lower monthly mortgage or auto loan payment? In most cases, lenders will not do it. This hidden, but substantial problem, costs many homebuyers thousands of dollars.

There is one issue that lowers your FICO scores for as long as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy – up to ten years. It is not a late payment, a judgement, or a tax lien. It has nothing to do with utilization ratios or on-time payments. What is it?

Discover card advertises to check your FICO score and review their “Credit Scorecard” on the Discover Card website. They say it is for free – which is enticing for everyone. The ad says that FICO scores are used by over 90% of lenders. However, this is where Discover Card deceives consumers.

When you cry “Fire”, you expect there is a fire. When you cry “Wolf”, you expect a predator is coming. The VantageScore created a major crisis this week that reached all the way to the White House. Unfortunately, there was no crisis, no fire, no wolf. It was all about nothing. This is a big one. Congratulations Vantage Score, you got millions of consumers excited and upset all about nothing. Nothing!

David increased his FICO score 85 points in just 23 days while refinancing his mortgage. This increase saved him $2,909 on his refinance. How did he do it?