Suze has taken the FICO® Kit to a whole new level with the new and improved – Platinum – version. She makes it easier than ever before to take control of your credit and save money!

The Suze Orman FICO® Kit Platinum Version still comes standard with many of the features you have come to know and love: including 3 personalized credit reports and 3 FICO® scores (from your choice of Equifax or TransUnion), plus many NEW AND EXCITING features.

Getting started is as simple as 1-2-3.

1. Click
Your FICO® Score

Click once, answer a few questions, and get your personal credit reports and FICO® scores. The Suze Orman FICO® Kit includes an at-a-glance explanation of your personalized FICO® score health. See yourself as lenders do and learn how your FICO® scores affect the interest rates you pay.

2. Quick
Action Planner

Based on your financial goals, FICO® scores and credit report information, the FICO® Kit Action Planner will walk you through a step-by-step process to help you take control of your credit and harness the power of your FICO® scores.

3. Get Ahead
Debt Eliminator

Learn how to get out of credit card debt with your own personalized debt analysis and repayment plan. Discover if you’re paying too much in interest and follow the personalized guide to negotiate the interest rates you really deserve.

Day-to-Pay Bill Reminders
Paying your bills on time is easy with our email bill payment reminders.

InfoVault
Online InfoVault
Store your important information in the online vault and access it online anytime.

Online Home and Car Coaching
Save money on your home and car loans by learning the interest rates you may qualify for. This could save you thousands of dollars in interest payments over the life of your loan.

FICO® Score Simulator
The FICO® Score Simulator shows how your score can change when you:

• Pay your bills on time for many months
• Miss a payment
• Pay down your debt balances right away or every month
• “Max out” your credit cards
• Get a new mortgage
• Get a new auto loan
• Get a new credit card
• Get instant credit at a department store
• Apply for a new credit card and transfer balances to it
• Declare bankruptcy
• Error Detection and Correction

We highlight potential errors on your credit reports and give you the tools you need to update inaccurate information.

Other Information
Active for one year after purchase
Accessible from either PC or Macintosh with an Internet connection and with Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, Firefox 1.5 or later, or Safari 2.0 or later
Online product – no CD-ROM included
Suze Orman’s FICO® Kit Platinum
Instant Online Access
Price: $49.95

Tax Credit Provides Outstanding Opportunity for Home Buyers

A tax credit of up to $8,000 is available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.

Who is eligible to claim the tax credit?

First-time home buyers purchasing any kind of home—new or resale—are eligible for the tax credit. To qualify for the tax credit, a home purchase must occur on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs and the title to the property transfers to the home owner.

Now is the time to get your credit report and credit score in the best position possible. Suze Orman’s FICO Kit Platinum is the best tool you can buy to show you exactly how to improve your credit score.

Source: Chicago Extra

In this economy, having a good credit score may not be enough to obtain a low interest rate or get approved for a loan.

This is the case for many people who at one point or another have had trouble with their credit. Making late payments or no payments at all for a long period of time can affect your credit. Don’t forget about collections, bankruptcies and judgments.

Like a criminal record, your credit rating may now affect your possibilities of obtaining employment, purchasing cell phone plans, apartment/home rentals and loans.

Paul Labonne, vice president and CRA officer with National City Bank (now part of PNC Bank) gave a few tips about how to deal with credit repair and how to spot scams, which end up costing you a lot more and leave your credit rating the same.

To start, Labonne said that people should order their credit report from any of the three major credit report agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.

“Preferably all three because sometimes the information that appears on one of the reports may not be on the other. Then review the information thoroughly and make sure the name, address and social security number is correct. Often times, that information is not correct and that can be a cause for bad credit,” Labonne said.

He suggests that once the credit report is received, people should go through it and request that any information like past delinquent accounts that have been paid and are more than seven years old, are removed from the credit report.

Credit repair scams
“The best way to avoid being taken advantage of is by not hiring any credit repair agency because there is nothing they can do, that you can’t do yourself,” Labonne said.

He said that most of the time, people hire credit repair agencies because of language barrier or they don’t have the time to do it themselves.

If someone needs to use a credit repair agency, Labonne suggest that they go to a reputable, not-for-profit agency that deals with affordable housing or financial counseling, which can guide them with the credit repair process.

“They’ll work with the client and help them reestablish credit. The best way to reestablish credit is to get on a budget and eliminate all the unnecessary credit cards. Instead of having up to 10 credit cards, just have two that you actually need for every day use or emergencies,” Labonne said.

To conclude, Labonne also suggests that if you dispute an item, it is best that you send it by certified mail so that here is proof that it was received. The credit bureau then has 30 days to investigate each disputed item and verify it or delete it.

“If you are saying something happened and the credit bureau can’t prove that it didn’t happen the way you say it did, they have to remove the item. The law requires that each disputed item must be verified and accurate for in order to stay on a credit report,” Labonne said.

To obtain your credit report you can contact:

Experian: (888) 397-3742

Equifax: (800) 685-1111

TransUnion: (800) 888-4213

Another trickle-down effect of America’s credit crisis: car insurance companies are using your credit score to help determine if you’ll be covered behind the wheel.

A Springfield insurance agent says car insurance rates have gone up about 5% in the past five years. Companies are really looking at those credit scores and using them to determine your rate.

You still have options if your score recently took a nosedive.

“It is very competitive,” Jeff Lindsey of Allstate says about the car insurance market.

He says companies can afford to be picky about who they insure.

“We take a picture of what you look like at a given time,” Lindsey says. “We’ll use everything from credit to loss history.”

That’s a double whammy for anyone who’s lost money lately, and it can affect your car insurance rate.

“Some companies could require you to have a certain credit score, some may rate you differently on price,” he says.

Lindsey says as long as you keep your insurance current, you’ll get a green light from insurance companies.

“Most companies don’t really look at that at renewal,” he says.

But if you miss a payment and let your insurance lapse, you’ll pay for it.

“You’re going to have a little bit of sticker-shock,” Lindsey says.

He says forget perks and benefits like company loyalty that save you money every year.

“You’re going to almost start over, so you may go back to an almost standard rate,” Lindsey says. “It’s going to be that way for at least a year.”

He says don’t be afraid to communicate with your insurance agent.

“Call us before you cancel and say, ‘Hey, I can’t make the payment.’” Lindsey says. “If you’ve been a client for awhile, there may be a skipped bill option.”

Insurance companies can’t forgive a missed bill, but they can look into policies that would give you a 30-day extension.

“We may be able to do some coverage options or things that could allow you some more time on your insurance bill without letting it lapse,” Lindsey says.

He says he did see clients miss payments in December and January, but since then, most clients can afford to make payments on time. Lindsey says that’s perhaps some “good news” on the money front, and we don’t get that a lot these days.

There is a state agency that oversees all insurance sold in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Insurance out of Jefferson City regulates insurance practices.

Companies file their rates with that agency for state approval. It’s also people’s go-to agency if you suspect an insurance company is gouging you with high rates. For more information, call 1-800-726-7390

Source: Ozarks First

Americans are dealing with the credit crunch by keeping cash on hand. In the process, however, the average consumer is paying 2.6 bills late every month, according to the Western Union Payment Services Money Mindset Index.

Unfortunately, late fees and additional unnecessary charges can stack up quickly, depleting your cash flow and harming your credit report score. Here’s how it works:

The longer you maintain a track record of paying your bills on time, the better your credit report score, according to the Fair Isaac Corporation, which created the FICO score, more commonly known as a credit report score. Your bill payment history accounts for 35 percent of your credit report score, which is used to determine your eligibility for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other financing.

However, late fees can lower your credit report score — and there’s no quick fix. When you apply for a loan, a low score may hinder your efforts to secure funds.

“Managing your finances can feel like a juggling act that won’t end,” says David Shapiro, senior vice president of Western Union. “Flexible payment plans can help consumers keep their cash flow strong by timing the paying of bills to when they get their paychecks. This allows you to avoid late charges and risking credit standing. Over time, consumers can build a strong credit history, allowing them to finance a car or a home when they are ready.”

In tough economic times, Shapiro and other experts say, lenders will scrutinize your credit report score even more. Many credit offerings and debt consolidation loans may seem advantageous, but can actually lead to debt disaster. Here are simple tips for avoiding unnecessary fees and maintaining a good credit score:

* Check your credit report. You can get a free report at annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. If you see a mistake, take necessary steps to get the mistake corrected as soon as possible.

* You can go online to sites such as money.com or kiplinger.com and receive free advice about how to contact the credit reporting bureaus when there are mistakes on your credit report. If you tend to avoid confrontational situations then you will accomplish much more by hiring a professional like Sky Blue Credit Repair.

* Research flexible payment plans that allow you to make smaller, more frequent affordable payments, such as paying a bill twice a month, but at smaller increments that suit your monthly budget.

* Pay off credit card debt. Maintaining low balances can show your ability to manage bills and can increase your credit score over time. Once you pay it off, try to only carry a balance that you can pay off in a month. Paying off your balance each month in full can help your credit score. Canceling an old credit card can hurt your credit score, however. If you’re serious about improving your credit report score then a tool like the Suze Orman FICO Kit is an indispensable helper.

* Consider same-day payments. You can maximize cash flow by paying your bill the same day it is due. For example, you can make an in-person cash payment at more than 45,000 Western Union Agent locations, and receive proof of payment within minutes. Visit WesternUnion.com to find the closest agent near you.

* Learn more about credit report scores. Download a free educational brochure from Fair Isaac Corporation’s Web site, www.myfico.com.

Just a few simple steps can make a big difference in managing your finances. Once you have a plan in place, what seems like a juggling act will turn into a smooth transition.

The credit score formula lenders use to determine your “credit worthiness” may soon change. The higher your FICO credit score, the more likely you are to get a better deal on a mortgage, auto loan and even a cell phone contract. But with the new changes, your credit score could change significantly.

Some of the factors that determine your credit score include paying your bills on time, the amount of credit you’ve established, the amount of credit used versus the amount of credit you have available, and black marks on your credit such as bankruptcy and accounts in collections.

With credit becoming increasingly difficult to secure, it’s important that you know all the facts surrounding your credit report. Credit scores are approximately determined by the following criteria:

* Payment history — 35 percent
* Types of credit used — 30 percent
* Amounts owed — 15 percent
* Length of credit history — 10 percent
* New credit — 10 percent

Sky Blue Credit Repair says the new scoring system will be more accurate than the original system, but until the system is in place it’s difficult to tell if the impact on your credit score will be negative or positive. Some of the proposed changes to the credit scoring system include:

* Stronger penalties for late payments.
* Better rewards for prompt payment.
* Different types of debt will be scored differently.

If you’re worried the updated scoring system may affect you, don’t panic. Typically, when changes are made to the credit scoring system, it takes lenders months, or even years, to make the change. Keeping an eye on your credit report is a good way to make sure you’ve got the credit score you need. If your score is lower than you’d like or you see errors on your credit report, you can take steps to raise the all-important score.

Don’t be caught by surprise when you apply for a mortgage, auto loan or credit card. See how changes to the credit scoring system might increase your score. Check your updated credit score and find out how you can improve your credit score by doing a few simple things with the Suze Orman FICO Kit. Checking your own credit will not hurt your score. Get acquainted with your credit report and be ready for any changes that come your way.