These Top Websites and Apps

Transitioning into adulthood will usually come with some big ticket purchases like purchasing a home or a car. These purchases usually take into account a certain three digit number that we call the “credit score.” At times, property rental companies and certain employers also take a look at your credit score before making a decision to rent to you or hire you. What should you do if your score isn’t quite as high as it needs to be? We’ve compiled a list of a few of the best websites and apps to help you boost your credit score.

Credit Karma

One of the most recognizable credit monitoring apps is Credit Karma. While not the best app on the market in terms of available options, it does a good job of giving you information about your current credit score and the factors affecting the number. 

Users are able to view a Credit Score Simulation that will allow you to see the impact of certain moves on your credit score. For example, what happens when you apply for a new credit card or a loan? Or what happens when you pay a bill late?

The great thing about Credit Karma is that it’s completely free to use. Users can access and monitor their score at any time and look for any changes and inconsistencies, which is key when trying to raise your credit score; you want to make sure all the information is accurate and up to date.  

Experian

Experian is one of the major credit reporting agencies and offers support for users who want to monitor and grow their credit score. Their signature program, CreditWorks, helps users build or rebuild their credit history. There are two tiers to choose from: CreditWorks Basic and CreditWorks Premium. 

CreditWorks Basic is completely free and will include score tracking and FICO score alerts. You’ll receive a monthly credit report and your FICO score.

CreditWorks Premium is a paid service and will offer the same features as Basic, but will also include extra perks such as identity theft monitoring and insurance, and you’ll receive your credit report and FICO score daily instead of monthly.

TransUnion

TransUnion is also one of the three major credit reporting agencies in the United States. TransUnion’s CreditView dashboard allows you to see your score in real time and offers suggestions for ways to improve your score. There are a wide variety of services available, including identity theft protection and insurance.

TransUnion offers several options for plans, starting at $24.95 and holds a score of A+ with the Better Business Bureau, so you can be sure you’re getting the best service. 

What to Look For

Not all credit monitoring/boosting services are created equal. What should you look for when deciding on a credit monitoring app?

• Monitoring from all three credit bureaus. This is crucial in making sure each bureau has the correct information.
• Available Features. You want to take note of which features are available. It’s best to have a service that gives a detailed description of entries and also offers tips for improving your score.
• Customer Service. Make sure customer service is easily accessible. If you have questions or concerns with the app, you’ll want to make sure you can reach someone who can help you right away. 
• Fees. Consider the pricing and fees involved for credit monitoring. Oftentimes it’s worth the cost, but be sure the essential features are included in the price. Also make sure you’re aware of any additional in app fees or purchases that may be required.

Our Conclusion

Deciding on a credit monitoring app can be a daunting task. It takes a little research to find the service that best fits your needs and your budget. These are just a few of the best credit monitoring apps on the market, but there are many more out there. Take the time to look at each one before deciding. This ensures you find the best fit and can get on the road to rebuilding your credit!

To learn more about investing, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.

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If you have any type of credit or loan, from a credit card to a car loan to a mortgage, you have a credit score. Whether it’s good or bad depends on your credit history and how well you’ve been able to make regular, on-time payments. A higher score is a better score, but why does it matter? What benefits can you have with a higher credit score? Let’s take a look.

Lower Interest Rates

One of the greatest benefits to having a higher credit score is lower interest rates. Since your credit score reflects your credit history, a higher score means you’ve made payments on time, you’ve rarely been late, and you’ve paid off loans in full. When lenders see a higher score, they are more likely to give you advantages and perks, one of which is a lower interest rate. This means you’ll pay less in interest as you pay off your credit cards over time, thus paying more of what you owe and less to the credit card company.

Higher Credit Limits

Another great perk for keeping your credit score high is higher credit limits. If you open a new card or take out a new loan, lenders are more likely to give you a higher credit limit. The reason is the same for lower interest rates. A higher credit score means you’re trustworthy when it comes to paying off your loans and therefore they can trust you with a higher limit.

Higher scores means you are more likely to have offers come to you rather than you looking for credit offers yourself. Once lenders know you have a great reputation with your credit, you’ll find all kinds of opportunities for loans and offers on your doorstep.

Greater Opportunities

Having a high credit score also opens the door to bigger and better opportunities. It will be easier for you to rent an apartment, apply for a mortgage, buy a car, not to mention you’ll enjoy the best homeowners and car insurance rates. 

You’ll also have access to bigger and better credit cards. Not only will your credit limit be higher, but you’ll be able to tap into the high-end cards that come with perks, miles, and points. These benefits work together to give you upgrades on plane tickets, hotel stays, or cash back.

Whether you’re buying a house, a car, opening a new loan, or looking for a new line of credit, having a higher credit score is the key to getting approved, and not only that, to getting a good interest rate as well. Thankfully, obtaining a high credit score is easy to achieve, but it takes time to do so. Make all your payments on time, every time, and be sure to pay off your debts in full rather than maxing out your cards. Work on elevating your credit score, and your credit score will elevate your quality of life. 

To learn more about investing, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.

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Credit Score for Free

Now that you understand your credit score, how do you check your score? And can you check it for free? Thankfully, the answer to that question is yes. Let’s take a look at the various ways you can check your credit and the websites you need to know about.

Check Your Bank

One of the first options you have open to you is to check with your bank or any credit card companies you might have. Some of them offer your credit score for free as a certain benefit for being their customer. These banks include US Bank and Wells Fargo. Some credit card companies include American Express, Discover, and Capital One. 

Check a Free App

Credit Karma is a free service that allows you to check your credit without paying a dime. However, be advised that while they allow you to see your score, they do not provide a detailed snapshot of your overall credit. You will not be able to see the entire history of your credit score, only the most recent information. If seeing your entire credit history isn’t important to you, then Credit Karma is a good option, and it’s free to use. 

Check the Big Three Bureaus

There are three major credit bureaus where you can check your credit. They’re TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Federal law states these three bureaus allow you to check your credit score once a year for free. You can do so all at once at a website called AnnualCreditReport.com. This website allows you to see your credit score across all three bureaus. Lately, however, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, this website has allowed for free credit checks every single week. Don’t count on that weekly service, though, since it is only a temporary allowance.

Your Credit Report

What you’re actually looking at when you request your credit score is not just the number you have that ranges anywhere between 300 to 900, but your entire credit history. This is called your credit report. This report shows all the credit accounts and loans you’ve had over the years, including car payments and mortgages. It shows payments made on time as well as late payments and anything that has been paid in full. This report is what lenders look at when they consider you for a new line of credit or approval for a loan.

Why do you want to check your credit report along with your credit score? Your credit report gives you a better idea of why your score is as low or as high as it is. It allows you to see if there is any fraud on your report, such as identity theft or any credit cards that have been opened in your name that you never authorized. If there are, you’ll be able to fix any fraud or incorrect information, even if it’s as simple as an address change. 

It is good to check your report annually for free and make sure everything on the report is legitimate and true. That way, when the time comes to apply for a loan or open a new line of credit, there will be no snags and you’ll enjoy all the perks of having good credit. 

To learn more about investing, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.

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for Black Families 

Do you understand your credit score? Perhaps you’ve heard of it but you have no idea what it is, or maybe you want to better understand it. Why do you need it? What is it for? Let’s take a look. 

What is a Credit Score?

Your credit score is a number that can range anywhere from 300 to 900 and is determined by the history of your credit. The lower the number, the worse your credit, the higher the number, the better your credit. The number itself is what lenders look at for a glimpse into your credit history. The lower or higher the number, lenders can know at a glance whether a person is high risk or minimum risk when it comes to lending them money.

The score is determined by how long you’ve had credit, how well you’ve made payments on your credit, what kinds of credit accounts you have, as well as the total amount you might owe on these accounts. The score is also affected if you’ve recently applied for new loans or credit cards.

The goal for your credit score is to be as high as possible. This involves making payments by the due date, paying off loans in a timely manner (and in full), and not maxing out your credit cards but keeping an open balance on them. 

Why Do You Need a Credit Score?

If you want to buy a car, a house, or any kind of property that requires payments to be made, you’ll need to have a good credit score. The best way to dip your toe into the world of credit is to open a small credit card and use it here and there while paying off the balance in full. Once you have a bit of a history with credit, you’re more likely to be approved for new cards, get a new loan, or purchase a house or car. 

Lenders need a way to see payments you’ve made in the past before they trust you with larger sums. If your score is low, you’ll likely be denied a line of credit. But if it is high, you’ll be accepted to open a new account.

 Who are the Reporting Agencies?

There are three big reporting agencies when it comes to knowing your credit score, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. If you want to know your score, report fraud, or report that your identity has been stolen, these are the three companies you’ll want to contact. They are the keepers of your score, and lenders will check your score from these Big Three.

VantageScore and FICO (also known as Fair Isaac and Company) compete with each other to calculate your credit score. Each one of these companies have proprietary programs that determine how to calculate them based on your payment history, late payments, and lines of credit. It doesn’t really matter which company calculates your score. One might be slightly higher or one slightly lower than the other, however, they’re never dramatically different from one to the other. Of the two, however, FICO is more well known. If you want to know your credit score, you can request it from one of these companies.

Take Care of Your Credit Score

While lenders might allow you to open a new line of credit or approve a loan, it’s always best to remember it is not free money. This money must be paid back and your payments are reported—even your late ones. Take care of your credit by paying on time and in full. When lenders can see you’re responsible with your money, they’re more likely to trust you with larger loans, such as a car payment or a mortgage.

To learn more about investing, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.

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Without Going Broke

When you enter adulthood, one major factor that will influence your life is the dreaded credit score. You’ll find that your credit score plays a role in many different parts of your life like buying a home or a car and some employers factor your score into the hiring process, depending on which industry you’re working in. So how do you increase that score without going broke in the process? We have some tips.

What is a Credit Score?

First, what is a credit score and why does it matter? In short, a credit score is used to determine how likely you are to pay back borrowed funds. Basically, your credit score decides whether you are a risk to the lender. The credit score matters because this will be used for determining whether you get a loan for a home mortgage or a car and what interest rate you’ll pay for those loans. Your credit score can also decide whether you’ll be eligible for credit cards and certain employers take the credit score into consideration when deciding if they’ll hire you.

Credit Score Ranges

What is considered a “good” credit score? Credit scores are three digit numbers that range from 300 to 850. In general, scores of 580-669 are considered “fair”; 670 to 739 are considered “good”; 740 to 749 are considered “very good” and anything above 800 is considered excellent. Lenders will usually require a credit score of at least 620 if you want to buy a home with no down payment. For car loans, that number is around 661 or higher if you’re looking at a conventional loan.

How Do I Raise My Credit Score?

There are many credit repair programs out there. Some claim to help raise your score by 100 points in a matter of months. Most of these credit repair programs require that you pay them some type of fee for them to help you. There’s good news: you can raise your credit score on your own without going broke in the process. All it takes is a little dedication and discipline. A few free ways to increase your credit score include:

• Review your credit report regularly. It’s important to check over your credit report at least once a year to make sure there are no errors that might be affecting your score. You can obtain a free credit report yearly by visiting Experian, which is one of the major credit reporting agencies. If you do find errors, you can easily report them and get them removed.
• Pay your bills on time. Whether you pay late or on time has a major impact on your credit score. This section accounts for approximately 35% of your total score.
• Pay down your revolving balance. If you have the means to pay more than the minimum payment each month, you definitely should. Credit scores are affected by the amount of credit that has been extended to you and how much of that credit you’re actually using. This portion accounts for approximately 30% of your score.

The Takeaway

There are several completely free things you can do to raise your credit score. Consistency is extremely important and it is imperative that you establish good credit habits right away. Pay on time, pay down your revolving balance, and keep an eye on your credit report and have errors removed. Some people will see a score increase in the first 30 days, but, realistically, you can expect to see major improvements within about 6 months.

To learn more about investing, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.

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