Karen's Tip of the Week

Last year over 6 billion credit card offers were mailed out in the U.S. You might receive several of these offers a day -- along with all the other junk mail you've got to sort through. Remember, it's not enough to simply throw these applications in the trash. You've got to shred them first to protect yourself from identity theft.

Better yet, if you want to stop the credit card companies from mailing you applications altogether and you're willing to give up other unsolicited mail like catalogues and such, go to The Direct Marketing Association's website at www.dmachoice.organd complete their online form. It will take you off all the junk mail lists.

Repair Credit Legally

The term credit repair is a little misleading - it can be more accurately described as building credit or reestablishing your credit. Re-building your credit can be done entirely on your own or with the assistance of a credit repair company or the assistance of a credit repair "kit" or credit repair book. Regardless of what method you choose to reestablish your credit, the key will be you. You need to become responsible and disciplined about your credit. This may be a long and difficult journey, but living life in the world today with bad credit is nearly impossible. Whether you choose to use a credit repair company or do it yourself, your credit report is always the focal point. 

To begin to repair your credit report, obtain a copy of your credit report and begin the process of correcting errors, consolidating debt to pay off past due balances, cancel credit cards you no longer use to eliminate excess credit, contact creditors to negotiate settlement terms (be sure they update the credit bureaus appropriately). By monitoring your credit report on a regular basis, you can ensure that once your credit is repaired, you remain in good credit standing and do not become a victim of identy theft.

Many consumers find themselves experiencing difficulties when paying back their credit card debt. The average American is $25,000 in debt. If you are currently experiencing difficulties with your bills you should reduce your overall monthly payments and interest rates. Whether past due or current, you can consolidate all of your unsecured debt such as, credit cards, medical bills, unsecured loans and student loans into one simple, low monthly payment.

Debt consolidation can help to reduce your overall monthly payments, significantly reduce or eliminate your interest rates, and provide the convenience of one low monthly payment. Plus you become debt free in about 4-6 years as opposed to the current estimates of 20-30 years without consolidation.

If your credit problems are tax related and you need help resolving problems with the IRS there is a resource to help you solve IRS Tax Problems.

Source: Credit in a Nutshell