You probably understand that paying bills late or missing payments all together can result in a drop in your credit score.  There are many other situations which are not as widely known which can cause you to have a less than perfect credit score.  Here are a few situations you’ll want to avoid in order to keep your credit score as high as possible:

Doing Too Much Comparison Shopping

When you shop around to get the best interest rate on a  loan, you think you’re doing the best thing possible for your financial situation.  And if you manage to get a super-low interest rate, you are.  But in reality, shopping around for financing can result in having a number of inquiries to your credit report  (which is not to say I don’t advocate shopping around for things like auto insurance).  Each time you fill out a credit card application or visit a bank to apply for a loan – the lender will pull your credit score.  Inquiries to a credit report remain visible on your report for 24 months.  People with high numbers of inquiries are statistically a higher risk for credit than an individual with less inquiries.  The more inquiries on your credit report the lower your credit score.

Canceling Credit Cards

It goes against everything that seems to make sense in the financial world – but closing credit card accounts can actually result in a lower credit score.  When your credit score is calculated, the formula considers how much of your available credit you are actually using.  When you cancel or close a credit card you’re no longer using, you reduce the amount of your available credit which increases the amount of credit you’re using in relation to what you have available.

Keeping Credit Cards And Not Using Them

It seems that if you’re not supposed to go around canceling credit cards the only thing left to do is to leave unused credit cards open, right?  Eventually, after 7 years of no activity, an unused credit card will no longer appear on your credit report.  The problem with leaving inactive cards on your credit report and just allowing them to drop off the report after 7 years is you don’t want it to disappear after 7 years if you have a good payment history with the account!  The record of payments made on time is used when your credit score is calculated, and lenders also look at your history of making payments when determining your credit worthiness.  To keep a credit card active and on your credit report, simply use it for a small purchase once every few months.  Pay the balance off in full when the statement arrives and it will keep your account open and reporting on-time payments.

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Often times, you see words or phrases on student credit card offers that may not make a lot of sense or seem misleading. Check out the terms I’ve outlined below and discover what some of the more common snippets actually mean:

cash advance – A cash advance is when you use your credit card like checking account, and withdraw money from it. You usually have to set up a special PIN number for this, and can do it at most ATMs. I highly recommend never doing this because the money you withdraw has a much higher interest rate on it than simply charging whatever you are buying. For

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Looking for a tax-free home for your savings? A stocks and share ISA could be for you.

What is a stocks and shares ISA?

An ISA (individual savings account) is essentially a wrapper into which you can put a range of investments to protect them from tax.

There are two types: a stocks and shares ISA, and a cash ISA.

Cash ISAs are like any other standard savings account, but with one fundamental difference: you don’t pay tax on any interest you earn.

Returns on stocks and shares ISAs are also tax-free but there is a much greater choice of what you can invest in.

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Recent financial woes that are being felt, not only in the U.S., but all over the globe, are providing opportunities for enterprising scam artists. Steve Cox, President and Chief Executive of the Council of Better Business Bureaus high lighted that people who lost their jobs last year became prime victims in job related scams.

Check the Application

Some enterprising fraudsters offered fake job propositions in hopes of bilking applicants. One scam involved consumers having to pay in advance to have a prospective ‘employer’ check their credit report. Par

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There was a really positive response to the ‘marketable hobby’ concept in my post about shifting the perception of what retirement is and should be, so I thought it would be great to explore it a little further with everyone and give it a post of its own. What exactly is this ‘marketable hobby’ thing?

Marketable Hobby: A definition

Let’s first start off with the hobby part of the definition. Wikipedia defines a hobby as:

“An activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, often in one’s spare time.”

I think that sums it up just about right. Doing something

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