Now that 2023 is upon us, let’s discuss how good credit in 2023 is going to be essential for you and your family. Before we explain why, it is important to know how our monetary system works. Have you ever noticed on the dollar bill the words “Federal Reserve Note”? I am certain you have heard someone say they need to pay their car note or their mortgage note. Essentially a note is a debt. That is exactly what you hold in your wallet, a debt.
Without credit there is no debt. So, in laymen’s terms, our money system is nothing but credit and debt. In proper terminology this is called fiat currency. Credit is basically purchasing power for
the consumer. The more credit you have the more purchasing power you have. 2022’s most talked about news headline was historic inflation. Inflation is when the value of the fiat currency decreases while the prices of the goods or services increase. Inflation affects everyone, regardless of race, creed, or economic status. With inflation, every American’s purchasing power declined sharply. This is why you are hearing in the news about how consumer debt and credit card use is increasing rapidly, because of inflation consumers need available credit to make up for the decreased purchasing power.
The Importance Of Good Credit In 2023
If the inflation of 2022 continues into 2023, the availability of credit may be crucial. Although we recommend not using your credit to pay bills, or to purchase everyday items, the fact is with increased prices, consumers may have no other choice other than to tap into some of their available credit to make up the difference. We know that prices increase, but often, paychecks do not increase. Here are a couple tips to avoid
racking up mass amounts of debt. If you haven’t already, tap into your savings before using credit lines. We know the average American’s savings accounts have been dwindling, but always pay with your available, cash as much as possible, to avoid digging yourself into a debt hole that you cannot get out of. If you do need to tap into your credit lines, we recommend quickly paying down or paying off what you charge as fast as possible. For instance, if you need to use your credit card one week to fill your gas tank, try to pay off that tank of gas from your next paycheck.
Remember, only use credit cards and open-ended personal loans as a last resort, and not as your primary form of payment. Also determine your absolute needs versus wants. Hold off on the wants until you are more financially sound. Credit Wellness Solutions can not only help you achieve good credit in 2023, but we can also help you navigate the world of credit, improve your credit, guide you in the wise management of your available credit lines, and help you get even more available credit. Click the link below to request a Free Consultation.
Results Matter: Credit Wellness Solutions Can Help You Achieve Good Credit In 2023
Credit Wellness Solutions is your one stop resource for all things credit related. We are expanding our services all the time to become more than just a credit repair company. We want to be the only resource people need for full financial freedom. Soon, we will be certified credit counsellors, which will open up even more services such as budgeting and debt settlement. Until then, we can still guide you in the process.
Many of our services include Pre-Litigation Credit Repair, credit education, credit building, debt collection audits, and much more. To see a listing of our services, click the button below. Also, we will detail below how we can help you achieve good credit in 2023.
Pre-Litigation Credit Repair
Unlike traditional credit repair methods, Pre-Litigation Credit Repair can actually pay you for fixing your credit. Using the method of factual disputing, we identify errors on your credit report, dispute those errors, and if the accounts in error are not fixed or deleted, we can represent you in arbitration, or turn over your case to our network of consumer attorneys to represent you in a lawsuit against the creditors, or the credit bureaus
for reporting your credit information inaccurately. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandates the credit industry to report consumer credit information with “maximum possible accuracy”. The credit reporting industry created a system called Metro2, which is the universal standard for credit reporting. We have the Metro2 manual and know how credit information should be reported. If any part of the account is not in compliance with Metro2, then the account also fails to meet the “maximum possible accuracy” mandate. You could be entitled to awarded damages for those inaccuracies, and Credit Wellness Solutions is there to help you hold your creditors, and the credit bureaus accountable. To take advantage of our methods, request your free consultation today.
Audit Your Debt Collections
Debt Collections can be a real drag to your credit score. Debt Collectors are also ruthless in their mafia style tactics to get you to pay up. They constantly call to harass you, send letters all the time. Sometimes, they will call family, friends, and neighbors looking for you. Did you know that debt collectors stop at nothing to get paid, even if it means breaking laws & regulations? Did you also know you are entitled up to $1,000 per violation? Keep reading to learn how to get collections removed from your credit report and how to hold debt collectors accountable to the law.
At Credit Wellness Solutions, we understand the impact debt collections have on your credit, and on your life. That’s why we do more than just dispute collections for credit report removal. We audit them for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Credit Building
We’ve said this many times in our articles, credit building can be as effective if not more effective than credit repair. If you know how credit scores are generated and the credit scoring factors, you can employ the power of credit building to fill the gaps. Any credit repair company worth their salt will use credit building in combination with their
credit repair program to maximize their client’s scores. To learn more about how credit scores are generated and about the credit scoring factors, read this article by clicking here. Credit Wellness Solutions has many resources to help you build or rebuild your credit. Credit building is so powerful that in less than 8 months we took a young lady with no credit score at all, to build her credit score to over 750! With that, she was able to buy her first car! Click the button below to explore all of our credit building options that can help you build or rebuild your credit!
Powerful Strategies To Improve Your Credit
Here are some tips and strategies to help you get well on your road to good credit in 2023. A couple main points to know before you employ some of these strategies is: 1. Know what’s on your credit report. and 2. Know what the credit scoring models look for and how your credit scores are generated. Let’s touch in detail each point so you can begin employing some of the strategies to improve your credit.
Know What’s On Your Credit Report
In order to improve your credit, you simply must know what is on your credit report. Skipping this step is like flying a plane for the very first time and not having a “how to operate manual”. Fortunately obtaining a credit report is simple. There are plenty of resources you can use to obtain your credit reports, however, not all sources are created equal. You can always obtain your credit reports for free annually from Annual Credit Report, which for a limited time due to the COVID-19 pandemic you can obtain weekly.
The Importance Of Using Bureau-Direct Credit Reports (ex: Annual Credit Report)
The reason we mentioned Annual Credit Report before any other resource is because of disputes. If you need to dispute anything on your credit report, bureau-direct credit reports are the way to go. This is because you get the information directly from the credit bureaus. Popular credit monitoring services only buy from 1 credit bureau, so those reports may be missing information. Also, by disputing from a bureau-direct credit report, you are ahead of the game if you must sue the credit bureaus or the creditor. Judges dismiss credit monitoring reports as hearsay.
The Value Of A Reliable Credit Monitoring Service
Although we mentioned Annual Credit Report before any other credit report source, there are a couple disadvantages. The first and most important disadvantage is the fact that Annual Credit Report is just that, Annual. Although for a limited time, you can obtain reports from them weekly, that is only temporary. It will be important to be able to see your credit report frequently if you want to make changes or see your progress.
Also, credit scores are not provided, and you have no way of knowing what is happening real-time as changes occur. So, we highly recommend that you also sign up for credit monitoring. Once again, not all sources are created equal. While we like to say any credit monitoring is better than none, we recommend you steer clear of free services like Credit Karma. This is because the information they provide is extremely limited, and they do not offer monitoring on all 3 credit bureaus.
Best Credit Monitoring Resources
Although we recommend only disputing errors on your credit report based on information from bureau-direct credit reports, credit monitoring is still essential to help you see changes in your credit report real-time so you can monitor your score and progress, but to also protect you against identity theft. There are two resources we highly recommend and use with our clients here at Credit Wellness Solutions, Smart Credit and My Score IQ. Click the button below to learn more about both services and you’ll be able to monitor your progress on the road to good credit in 2023.
Learn The Credit Scoring Factors And Capitalize
In order to improve your credit, it is vitally important to know how your credit scores are generated. Knowing how you are scored will help you determine what you need to do to capitalize and how to manage credit responsibly. Let’s briefly touch on each credit scoring factor with tips to ensure you get the most out of your credit profile.
- Payment History – This one is pretty self-explanatory. You want to make sure you make all of your payments and make them ON TIME. To avoid late pays, set reminders on your phone on when your bills are due. Obviously, you want to ensure you pay your bills before the due date and in a manner that will work with your budget.
- Credit Usage – This is also referred to another term called the debt to credit ratio. On revolving tradelines (credit cards for example), you want to ensure you have no more than 30% of the credit limit charged on your card. In fact, we recommend 10% or less for the best results. If you are above 30%, we recommend you make extra payments or increase your payment amount to bring your balance down.
- Length of Credit History – Also known as credit age or the average age of accounts. The older your accounts, the better. Never close and account and use the account periodically to avoid having the account closed due to inactivity. If your credit profile has old accounts on it, avoid opening new accounts unless you need the credit, or your credit profile needs it.
- Credit Mix – The credit scoring models like to see a variety of accounts on your credit report, For a good credit mix you want to ensure you have some revolving credit (credit cards), and installment credit (auto loans, personal loans, mortgage, etc). For those just starting out we recommend a minimum of 3 revolving accounts and 2 installment accounts.
- Inquiries – This is probably the most talked about of all the credit scoring factors, but probably the one with the least impact. New inquiries can hurt your score for a short time but decrease in impact as they age. Inquiries stay on your credit for 2 years, but most of the impact is gone after 1 year.
- To avoid a large number of inquiries car or home shopping, try to pick 1 lender to apply for credit. Of course, don’t apply for credit unless you need it, or your credit profile needs it.
Capitalizing On The Credit Scoring Factors
Now that we know the credit scoring factors, you can use this to your advantage. For example, let’s say you have old credit cards that were closed on your credit report, and you have a mortgage and an auto loan you are paying. Your credit report would have 2 installment loans, and no open revolving accounts. In order to increase your score, you would need to add installment credit to your credit report. You may worry about inquiries
but in this case, it is warranted. However, there is a way to add installment lines of credit without the inquiries. One way to do this is through becoming an authorized user on a credit card. You can either ask a good friend or family member who you know has a credit card, preferably with a large credit limit and has been open for a long time. To ease their minds, they do not need to give you a card, only allow you to piggyback on their credit. One word of caution, you only want a card that is charged less than 30% of the credit limit and paid on-time as the negative will report along with the positive.
There are also services where you can purchase for a period of time a tradeline to report on your credit. Authorized user services such as GCL Credit, or Tradeline Supply Co. are great resources to obtain an authorized user tradeline for your credit report.
Using Credit Building Products To Improve Your Credit
The above was just one example of analyzing your credit report and using the credit building technique of authorized user tradelines to fill in a gap. There are credit building products of every type that can cover any of the credit scoring factors you lack or need to improve to make your journey to good credit in 2023 a successful and swift journey. To capitalize on the credit scoring factors, simply find what you lack and select the appropriate credit builder.
In fact, many professionals in the credit repair, and credit counseling industries use credit building products to assist our clients in improving their credit scores while we work, or when services are complete. Quite honestly, credit building can be as effective if not more effective than the credit repair process itself. Click the button below to access a good list of credit building products to assist you on your journey to good credit in 2023. We also offer FREE consultations to help you in the process of credit report analysis and credit building. Click Here to request a free consultation appointment.
Final Thoughts
Having good credit in 2023 will be essential as we continue to face inflation and interest rate hikes. Whether it’s credit repair, debt collection audits and removal, or capitalizing on the credit scoring factors, Credit Wellness Solutions has you covered, and can help you not only achieve good credit in 2023, but also help you achieve your dreams such as, getting approved for a mortgage, or getting approved for the car you always wanted. Don’t
hesitate to reach out. Even if you don’t want or need credit repair, Credit Wellness Solutions is your resource to help you achieve all of your credit goals. Simply click the button below to request a FREE consultation. We look forward to serving you and assisting you in achieving good credit in 2023.
