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DIY Credit Repair

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Credit scores sometimes feel like the GPAs of high school. It’s just a number but also has a lot of power of what you can be approved for (like GPAs determine what colleges you can get into). If you’ve struggled with credit, it may be tempting to call the 800 number you hear on the radio promising you an overnight solution to repair your credit. As tempting as it is, do not do it! Most of these are just scams that will get you to spend money you don’t need to.

You can work on repairing your credit yourself and you should. 

Step #1 – Monitor your credit

The first step is seeing where you are at. You can get copies of your full credit reports from all the credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) by going to annualcreditreport.com or calling 877-322-8228. You are able to get your reports for free once a year via Annual Credit Report. 

You can also sign up for a reputable credit monitoring service. These services help you by sending alerts anytime there is suspicious activity on your credit and also giving you the ability to check in often. You can find a list of some options here.

Step #2 – Dispute any errors

Once you have your reports, you should review them for accuracy. Confirm that your name, address, social security number, and all other personal information is correct. Then review all the accounts reported including balances. If you see any errors, you can tell the credit bureaus in writing what information you think is incorrect. Make sure to include copies of supporting documents (bank statements, credit card statements, etc). You can find a sample letter for disputing errors on your credit report from the Federal Trade Commission here.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, credit reporting companies must investigate the items you question within 30 days unless they consider your dispute frivolous. Once the investigation is complete, the credit reporting company must also give you the results in writing and give you another free copy of the report. 

Step #3 – Control the things you can control

While sometimes there can be errors on your credit report that negatively affect you, a lot of the time your scores can be in your control. If you have a poor credit score because of things like missing payments, maxing out accounts, or applying for too much credit in a short period of time, work on improving these behaviors: 

  • Always try to pay your bills on time even if it’s just the minimum payments. 
  • Work on paying off your debt, especially high interest credit card debt.
  • Avoid applying for new credit. If you are trying to get a handle on your credit, one of the best things you can do is break the cycle of continuing to apply for new credit. 

For more information, or if you have any questions, please reach out to your trusted wealth advisor at Warren Street Wealth Advisors.

Veronica Torres

Director of Operations, Warren Street Wealth Advisors

Investment Advisor Representative, Warren Street Wealth Advisors, LLC., a Registered Investment Advisor

The information presented here represents opinions and is not meant as personal or actionable advice to any individual, corporation, or other entity. Any investments discussed carry unique risks and should be carefully considered and reviewed by you and your financial professional. Nothing in this document is a solicitation to buy or sell any securities, or an attempt to furnish personal investment advice. Warren Street Wealth Advisors may own securities referenced in this document. Due to the static nature of content, securities held may change over time and current trades may be contrary to outdated publications. Form ADV available upon request 714-876-6200.

What’s Your Financial Health Score?

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What’s Your Financial Health ScoreCan a 5-question test predict how wealthy you will become?

Provided by: Warren Street Wealth Advisors

    

In the future, will you become wealthier or poorer? Who knows, right? It seems like you would need a crystal ball to really answer that question given life’s up and downs. What if the answer is right in front of you? What if you can determine it from your present financial behaviors?

 

Two economists present a brief questionnaire – and an audacious claim. Last month, the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis published an article titled “Five Simple Questions That Reveal Your Financial Health and Wealth.” The authors, William Emmons and Bryan Noeth, argue that your answers to these questions can effectively predict your financial future.1,2

 

Q: Did you save any money last year?

Q: Did you miss any loan or mortgage payments in the past year?

Q: Did you have a balance on your credit card after the last payment was due?

Q: Do liquid assets make up at least 10% of the value of your total assets?

Q: Is your total debt service (i.e., the cash you devote each month to paying principal and interest) less than 40% of your income?1

 

The Federal Reserve has actually asked these questions of consumers for decades as part of its Survey of Consumer Finances. Studying the eight SCFs conducted from 1992-2013, Emmons and Noeth looked at the answers respondents provided to these questions and the level of personal wealth they reported. Their assertion: “In summary, good financial health – as measured by our simple five-question scorecard – is highly correlated with the accumulation of wealth.”2

 

As part of their research, Emmons and Noeth scored the answers. A financially positive answer to a question was assigned 1 point; a financially negative answer, 0 points.2

 

The average total score (across more than 38,000 households) was 3.01. The highest average score to a question was 0.91 (the one about debt load being less than 40% of income) and the lowest average score to a question was 0.27 (the one about the percentage of liquid assets among total assets).2

 

There was a surprising conclusion. The authors found that education was no reliable indicator of personal wealth. When it came to being rich or poor, well-educated individuals had no leg up on lesser-educated individuals.2

 

What’s your score? If you are able to successively answer the above questions with “yes,” “no,” “no,” “yes” and “yes”, your household is probably in pretty good financial shape – or better. In simple terms, those answers would get you a 5.0.

 

Here’s the bottom line. If you save money consistently and maintain a good cash position, if you make loan and mortgage payments on time and pay off 100% of your credit card debt each billing cycle, if you avoid debts that put a strain on your budget … congratulations. You are doing the right things on behalf of your financial life and promoting your chances to build wealth.

 

If you’d like to see the precise methodology the researchers used and their definition of a “positive” and “negative” answer for each question, you can go online and download Issue 10 of the St. Louis Fed publication In the Balance (which contains the article and the scorecard) at stlouisfed.org/publications/itb/.

 

Warren Street Wealth Advisors

190 S. Glassell St., Suite 209

Orange, CA 92866

714-876-6200 – office

 

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.

     

Citations.

1 – stlouisfed.org/newsroom/displayNews.cfm?article=2390 [12/15/14]

2 – stlouisfed.org/publications/pub_assets/pdf/2014/In_the_Balance_issue_10.pdf/ [12/14]