Credit Rebuilding Resources Portland OR

Rebuilding Your Credit

Bad Credit Hurts

When you have a bad credit report, you have a bad reputation in the financial world. And the financial world is much bigger and more interwoven than you might believe.

Everyone knows that bad credit can cause you to be turned down for loans and credit cards or force you to pay higher interest rates.

Fewer people realize that they can also be turned down for a rental apartment, lose a job opportunity, pay higher utility deposits or even higher auto insurance rates if they have bad credit.

Also bad credit is not only the result of not paying bills on time. Traffic tickets, especially for drunk driving, criminal convictions and simply not paying your overdue book fines to your public library may negatively affect your credit report.

If you have good credit, it's important to maintain it. Mostly it is a matter of living what most people consider a normal lifestyle and handling your finances responsibly.

If your credit is bad, you have to face the task of rebuilding it as quickly as you can.

Let's look at a very real scenario. You need to make more money to pay your bills. You find a better paying job that would be perfect for you. The potential employer checks your credit report and you don't get the job.

As a result you need to move into a smaller apartment. However several landlords turn you down and once you do find an apartment, your utility deposit is twice what you thought it would be and more than you can afford. Then your car insurance comes up for renewal and there's a big increase in premiums - another item you can't afford.

How Do You Re-establish Your Credit?

You should first concentrate on your basic needs, food, shelter and utilities. If you own a home, get your mortgage up to date or talk to the lender about refinancing. Maybe it would be better to sell and move into an apartment, rather than face foreclosure.

If you are late on your rent, make an arrangement with your landlord to get current.

You and your family need a place to live and keeping your house or apartment is vital.

Next you need to eat, but it doesn't have to be in restaurants. You can eat more cheaply at home than even at McDonalds or Denny's. Brown bag it for lunch.

Save on groceries by buying store brands and bigger size packages. Also do you qualify for food stamps? If so, get and use them.

Utility companies will usually give you a little leeway. You might even qualify for assistance in paying these bills from either the company itself or welfare or charitable agencies.

Whatever money you save this way should go into debt reduction.

Now you have to address paying the other bills, the car loan, the credit cards and other personal loans. If necessary, you mig...