Credit

Six Different Ways your Credit Can Affect your Life

Most of us know that our credit can have a huge impact on our lives, but there are some ways credit can affect you that are more surprising than others. If you want to learn as much as possible about credit so you can be a responsible adult, it’s important that you take the time to read these things. The more of this information you get, the better off you will overall.

1. Your Credit Score can actually Save you Money

If you ever apply for a loan, you will find that your credit score will play a very important role in determining how much interest you have to pay on it. Whether it is a home loan or an auto loan, your interest rate will largely depend on what your credit is like. The fact is that those who have good credit usually end up spending far less than those with bad credit. This is just one of the many reasons to work on improving your credit score as much as possible.

2. Your Credit can Affect your Career

Your future career can be affected by your credit, so you will need to keep this in mind. These days a lot of employers are starting to run credit checks on applicants, and the better your credit is the better chances will be of getting hired. If you want to have a prosperous career, it is crucial that you make a point of improving your credit as much as possible. As you begin to improve your credit, you will most likely find that your job prospects will begin to open up more.

3. Your Score can Influence where you Live

Believe it or not, your credit score can even play an important part in where you end up living. While it’s true that those who want to buy a new home should be aware of their credit score, even renters need to be mindful of what their credit is like when attempting to rent an apartment. The fact is that is that landlords will run a credit check on applicants, so you will need to make sure that you know what your credit is like before you even start looking around for a place to live. Having good credit can really work in your favor, especially when you are trying to get into a nice apartment somewhere.

4. Your Credit can Affect your Ability to Refinance

If you already own a house and want to refinance, bad credit can be a major roadblock. Even those who have made every single payment on time can be thwarted by their bad credit. Those who have good credit have a much easier time refinancing. You could end up spending a lot more money over the course of your mortgage if you have a low credit score. A good credit score can also open a lot of door for you when it comes to refinancing student loans in order to reduce your interest rates.

5. Your Credit can even Affect your Romantic Life

Your credit score can even have an impact on your love life. More couples seem to break up over finances than anything else, so it’s no wonder that a bad credit score can be damaging to a relationship. If you find yourself arguing over financial troubles with your significant other because of a low credit score, it’s highly recommended that you work on starting to improve it as soon as possible. Improving your credit score can actually be great for your love life, so you will need to keep that in mind as well.

6. Your Credit Score is a Lifelong Process

It is important to remember that maintaining your credit score is a lifelong process. There will never come a time when you are alive where you shouldn’t be striving to improve your credit score and keep it at a healthy level. You will most likely find that your score will become more important to you even as you get older. A good credit score can open a lot of doors for you, and a bad one can seriously limit your prospects in life.

Students

Six Big Mistakes to Avoid when taking out Student Loans

There are some big mistakes that you will definitely want to avoid when it comes to taking out student loans, and it’s crucial that you know what they are. If you need to finance your higher education like so many others, you will need to be smart about it. These mistakes will help you to know what not to do when you go about getting the money you need for college.

1. Deferring your Payments for Years

The last thing you want to do is keep deferring your student loan payments for years, because the interest will only keep piling on. The longer you choose to ignore your student loans, the more debt you will have to pay off. Simply ignoring your loans is not an option, so you will need to keep that in mind. If you cannot afford the federal student loan payments each month, you will want to look into an income-based repayment plan. This sort of payment plan could help you out a lot when it comes to making your monthly payments without fail.

2. Not Refinancing Your Loans when you have the Opportunity

A lot of people with student loans deeply regret not having refinanced them when they had the chance to do so. If you are currently paying ridiculously high interest rates on your loans, you will definitely want to seriously consider refinancing. Sometimes refinancing student loans is a no-brainer, and it’s important that you don’t miss your opportunity to do it. The fact is that refinancing your student loans can effectively lower your interest rates and reduce your monthly payment. This can make paying back the money you owe much easier. If you want to make your student debt more manageable, this is probably the most effective way to do so.

3. Don’t spend your Loan Money on anything Unnecessary

Some people who receive student loan money foolishly decide to spend a good chunk of it on shopping sprees and vacations. While it may be tempting to do this, it’s important to consider the fact that you will eventually need to pay back this money. It is important that you use the money you are given wisely, because otherwise you will more than likely end up regretting it. You absolutely do not want to spend your student loan money on anything frivolous.

4. Know exactly how much money you are taking out

Another big mistake that people who take out student loans make is not knowing exactly how much they are taking out each semester. Make sure that you reach out to your college’s financial aid officer sooner rather than later to discuss a repayment plan if you need to. Always keep track of your debt in general, because you will regret it later if you do not.

5. Paying for a Degree you don’t end up using

You don’t want to borrow tens of thousands of dollars only to discover that you cannot use the degree that you received from your college or university. It is imperative that you make a point of going for a degree that you have a good chance of getting a job with shortly after you graduate. There are some fields of study that offer more promising job prospects than others, so you will need to keep this in mind. You will need to sit down and figure out if the benefits of the degree you are going for are going to outweigh the costs. In the end you will be very glad you took the time to think about this.

6. Using your Loans to go to an Overpriced College or University

The fact is that an expensive college or university is not necessarily better than an inexpensive or more affordable one. Cost isn’t everything when it comes to choosing a place to go for higher education. There is no point in borrowing more money than you have to for college. Take the time to look for a college with a fairly reasonable tuition cost so you don’t end up borrowing more money than you really have to. There are plenty of affordable school options for those who are interested in earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

Loans

Most Important Things to Remember Before getting a Personal Loan

One of the reasons that so many people apply for personal loans is because they tend to be easier to get than other types. There are still a lot of things that you should keep in mind before getting a personal loan though. The more of this information you have, the better your chances are going to be of getting approved and getting the most out of the money you borrow.

Your Credit Score

Probably the most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to personal loans is that they are given out based solely on the applicant’s credit score. This means having a good credit score will weigh heavily in your favor, and having a bad one can mean getting rejected. You don’t necessarily have to have perfect credit to get a personal loan, but a higher score is always better. Take a look at what your credit score is like before you even fill out an application so you can get an idea as to what your chances of being approved are.

What your Interest Rate will be like

One of the biggest concerns that people have when applying for any type of loan is how much interest they are going to end up paying. This will depend largely on what your credit is like. You may still be able to get approved for a personal loan with bad credit, but your interest rate is going to be higher. A high credit score will most likely mean that you will have a very reasonable interest rate that is highly manageable.

Loan Repayment Period

Repayment periods for personal loans range from a few months to a few years, depending on the total amount that you borrow. Pay loans typically have a very short repayment period of about 2 weeks, so you’ll need to pay back the money you borrow with your next paycheck.

Limits on how you use the Money

You will find that most personal loan lenders will not even ask you what you intend on spending the money you borrow for, so you won’t have to worry about that at all. There are some peer-to-peer lenders who might inquire as to the purpose of your loan application. If you aren’t certain about the restrictions of the loan you are applying for, you will want to make a point of asking in advance. Most of the time you will be able to spend the money you borrow on whatever you want.

Types of Lenders

Personal loans are given out by many different types of lenders, including banks, credit unions and private lending companies. Payday loans, for example, are typically given out by private lenders. Even pawn shops give out personal loans, though they usually come with fairly high interest rates no matter what your credit is like. It’s important to keep in mind that peer-to-peer lenders can be a lot more lenient than either banks or credit unions, so you might want to apply with one of these lenders first. While it’s true that payday lenders have lax standards, you will likely end up paying a lot in interest alone.

Getting a Co-Signer

The lender that you apply to for a long might ask you to get a co-signer for the loan if you don’t have the best credit. A co-signer is someone who promises to pay off the remaining balance of the loan if the primary borrower (you) is not able to pay it back in full for whatever reason. Peer-to-peer lenders usually do not require a co-signer, simply because they typically set minimum credit scores necessary for applicants to be approved.
If you cannot pay back your loan on time

In the event that you are not able to pay your loan back on time for any reason, it is crucial that you contact your lender right away. While you may not want to have this conversation, it is very important that you do so. You can try to make certain arrangements with your lender to pay the loan back late, though doing so might not be possible. This will depend entirely on the lender that you chose to borrow from.