Your Credit Questions and Answers

I hate to pay fees. Little fees, big fees, they all irritate me. In the old days of checking accounts where local companies all accepted checks, banks used to charge $15 to $25 on bounced checks. In my area of Montana they made enough in Bad Check fees to pay all of their full time tellers.  A friend who was a banker told me this. Fees are a huge revenue source for banks. I try to avoid most bank fees. My checking account is does not have a monthly fee. My savings account does not have a yearly fee.   I do have an annual fee on my lines of credit, HELOCs, but I have not been able to talk my banker out of those fees. Debit Cards Fees will grow quickly if you don't pay attention. Debit card fees can vary depending on the bank or financial institution you use, as well as the type of account and the transaction type. Here are some common fees associated with debit card usage: ATM withdrawal fees : When you use an ATM that is not owned by your bank or financial institutio...

The reason not to cancel a credit card is because the average age of your credit is important.  If you do not have a loan like a house payment that you have paid for several years your oldest credit history account is probably a credit card.   If the average age of all of your credit cards is less than six or seven years your score will not be able to build an over 800 Credit Score . I have acquired a lot of credit cards through the years.  Many of them after I get the bonus I will quit using.  It usually takes a year or three for the company to delete that credit card account.  Long Term Credit Cards  However I have four cards that I have had for over ten years.  I make sure I use them some so they do not get cancelled.  A few times a year is enough to keep the cards active. How to Keep Credit Active If you do not have a home loan it is a good idea to keep a good credit score to have at least two old credit cards active.  You do not nee...

Begin a Debt Disaster Now! You start by getting a credit card. You get excited and see something you would like to buy. You don't have the money for it today. Let's say it's a new set of ski boots that cost $600 or a new video game console that cost $600. You promise yourself that you will pay it off in the next 3 months. You tell yourself, “I will just pay an extra $200 for the next three months and it will be paid off.” You get your credit card bill and you don't quite have the extra $200. This is how it starts. Your personal Credit Card Disaster is just starting. Next you get an offer for a screaming deal on a ski trip, Friends have an Air BNB rented and you can join the trip cheaply. You put it on your credit card. Listen to a Dave Ramsey podcast or radio broadcast sometime. The people calling in on his podcast or radio program have $20,000 to $380,000 in debt.  Usually a large portion of this debt will be credit cards.  They started with just $600 in unpaid c...

 How people steal your identity.   Your Name, Social Security Number, and Address are all that an identity thief needs to steal your identity.  If they have one of your passwords, phone number, or email that is just a bonus for them . One in One Hundred   If you know 100 people it is likely one of them will get their identity stolen this year.  It can take you years to get the problems you will have fixed if your Identity is stolen. There are a lot of black websites that will store your name, address, and Social Security number.  They might have your phone number and email address also.  Identity Thieves will continuously contact you any way they can to try to get you to sign into their fake website.  Often they will pretend to be your bank like Wells Fargo or Chase or Amazon to get your password.   Once they have access to any account they will try to steal from you.  Sometimes they will open up new accounts or other...

I have four different Free ways to be notified of a new account being opened in my name on my Social Security number.  This is the critical notification that your Identity is being stolen if you did not just open a new credit line. My Discover card, Credit Karma, Chase Bank, and Credit Sesame accounts all notify me if there has been a new account opened in my name with my Social Security number.   New Credit Account I recently opened a new Home Depot* credit card.  You know those Black Friday tool sales sucked me in again.  I do it almost every year.   Anyway right on time the next day and the day after I opened a new account I was notified by Credit Karma, Discover, Chase Bank, and Credit Sessame. Why This is Important Any time your credit is checked you need to be notified.  If you did not apply for new credit it is likely to mean someone is attempting to STEAL Your Identity.   The first step in Identity Theft is for the thief to apply...

  I am about to have my last birthday of my 7th decade.  I know, a strange way to say I am turning 69. I was 33 years old with a problem. I had no idea how credit worked. I had a couple of credit cards which I usually paid on time.  At 28 I had purchased my first house with owner financing.  The woman I bought my first house from did not check my credit as I made a significant down payment.   At 33 years old I was applying to purchase my second house and I was going to rent out my first house. We applied for a home loan from a bank, however my wife at the time had missed a payment on her credit card and I had missed a payment on my credit card. The Bank required an explanation as to why we had missed payments.  I thought it was silly as neither of our missed payments were for more than $25.  My income at the time was significantly more than needed to easily make the payments and other than a small loan on the first house we were debt free.   ...

  Debit card fees will vary depending on the bank or financial institution you use. Here are some common debit card fees : ATM withdrawal fees : When you use an ATM that is not owned by your bank or financial institution, you may be charged a fee by both the ATM owner and your bank. This fee typically ranges from $2 to $5 per transaction. Foreign transaction fees: If you use your debit card to make purchases or withdraw money in a foreign country, you may be charged a fee by your bank or financial institution. This fee is typically a percentage of the transaction amount, ranging from 1% to 3%. Replacement card fees: If you lose your debit card or it gets stolen, you may be charged a fee to replace it. This fee can range from $5 to $25 depending on your bank or financial institution. Overdraft fees: If you spend more money than you have in your account, you may be charged an overdraft fee. This fee can be as high as $35 per transaction.  Ouch. Balance Check Fee:  Some A...