How to Get a Credit Card with Bad Credit Scores

Most Americans don’t have an impressive credit report, due to which, it becomes difficult for them to get a credit card. A credit card is essential, but if you have bad credit, then it’s difficult for you to get one.

In this article, I’ll discuss the difficulties faced by people, who apply for a card with a bad credit history, and what options are available to them. 

Give explanations

The credit scoring system is called FICO score. FICO doesn’t consider all aspects related to your financial life when it assigns you a score. 

For example, if the card issuer sends the balance statement to the credit bureaus before you pay off the debt on your card, your credit report would show the outstanding debt.

Since there’s hardly any scope for an explanation, you should create the opportunity yourself by adding a statement to all three credit bureaus. Explain in that statement the reasons behind the not-so-impressive credit. 

Try convincing the issuer. If an issuer is convinced that the bad credit is not necessarily indicating that you are unreliable, then you may get a card.

Unsecured cards

There are agencies, specialized in providing unsecured credit cards to people with a bad credit history. There are risks associated with such cards. 

Interest rates are high, not paying the outstanding balance promptly may hamper your credit score, and a slew of fees are associated.

The fees associated with an unsecured card are a one-time processing fee, annual fee, application fee, etc. The fees can add up and you may have to pay a truckload of money.

Hence, proceed with caution when it comes to unsecured cards.

Prepaid credit cards

Nine out of ten who apply for such cards, get it. However, you may wonder whether a prepaid card can be called a credit card in the truest sense. The truth is, it’s not. It’s more like a debit card. 

Unlike a standard credit card, which generates a line of credit whenever you make a purchase, a prepaid credit card requires you to have a deposit account with a bank.

When you buy something, money from your account is drawn. There are two problems with a prepaid credit card. The first is you need a substantial amount of money to put in your bank account. 

Secondly, the card won’t help you to rebuild your damaged credit history. You can use it only for transaction purpose.

Secured credit card

A secured credit card is similar to a regular credit card. The cardholder needs to deposit a sum of money. The deposit is to secure the credit limit funds. 

The credit limit can be the same as the money you deposit in the bank. Or it can be a percentage of that money. It depends on the card issuer.

Having a secured card works in your favor and improves your score. The issuing organization will keep a close watch on your credit score. If the score increases, you’d get a reward; your credit limit would increase too. 

Don’t get too carried away if it happens to you because it’s actually a reminder informing you that you are on the right track, and keep doing what you are doing. 

The setup cost for secured credit card is normally higher than unsecured cards. You may not have to face troubles from collection agencies, but you won’t be able to withdraw money because the funds could be used in case of overdrawn credit limit.

Refinance your debt

This is a solid defence against the debt. Remember, the key reason your credit score dipped is debt. 

Refinancing your debt at a lower interest rate helps you polish your credit history, and makes your candidature for a new card strong.

Start looking for such companies. If you are lucky you’ll find agencies, which offer refinancing option at an interest rate, as low as 4.24%.

Such agencies are called marketplace lenders. They are rivals of credit card companies. Credit card companies seem to have the upper hand. 

They are good at marketing and people with decent to good credit can easily have cards. But the advantage of marketplace lenders is the low interest rate of the refinance option.

With the help of such an agency, you can improve your credit report, and then apply for a credit card, or a debit card, or maybe a charge card.

What do you think of this article? Do you have bad credits? Have you been trying to get a credit card for a while? What new can you add? Let us know in the comment section.

Tina Roth is an experienced personal finance blogger who loves blogging about personal finance and money management tips. You can visit here personal finance blog to find more about her writings.

Bankruptcy: 4 Tips For Overcoming The Worst Of The Worst

Money can indeed bring some degree of euphoria, but it's also a common source of negative emotions, particularly when bankruptcy hits. 

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the most common case of consumer bankruptcy in the country, during which all of the individual's non-exempt assets are surrendered to and handled by a trustee. 

The trustee then distributes the funds to pay the filer's creditors. Bankruptcy can be a dark time in a person's life, but even then, light can be found. Here are four tips to overcoming the worst of the worst. 

Know the Real Effect of Bankruptcy

Take affluent investors and celebrities, for example. Many of these people have filed bankruptcy at least once in their lifetime and still emerged as victors. 

Bankruptcy tends to have a social stigma whereby the filer is rendered immobile to improve his/her financial circumstance. Acknowledge the fact that bankruptcy does not stop you from creating wealth. 

If anything, the experience should motivate you to be a better steward of your finances.

Don't Rush into Credit Cards

For some folks who've just filed bankruptcy, getting credit again is perceived to be a good solution for making external fixes to their creditworthiness. 

However, experts suggest this is not the best solution to get back up after your financial fall. A bigger and more positive solution is to take a step back and reexamine your financial personality, beliefs, and habits.

Hire Professional Help

Bankruptcy laws and the whole filing process add to the already stressful circumstance a filer is in. 

To avoid such unnecessary complications, getting the help of professional legal services is a wise investment. The guidance of a bankruptcy professional can speed up the process and ensure that no other penalties are incurred due to erroneous filing. 

A bankruptcy lawyer, like Lazaro Carvajal, can speak to you directly and give a more detailed explanation of bankruptcy law.

Start Making Budget Trims

Life after bankruptcy filing doesn't have to be completely back-breaking and stressful. 

With proper planning and working towards small, achievable goals, you can repair your finances and improve it for the long term. 

Start by making trims on unnecessary purchases, such as magazine subscriptions, cigarettes or alcohol, and gourmet-brand food. 

Cut back on these expensive and unnecessary consumption at least until you regain your financial footing.

Overcoming the worst of the worst won't be easy nor will it come quickly. With the four tips above, however, you'll be able to go through the experience with more confidence and direction.

How To Make Your Home A Retirement Haven

A home should be a place of comfort, but this could change as you age. There are a number of things that need to be considered to ensure that your home is a retirement haven. Some of these suggestions are more practical while others focus on comfort.

Redesigning Your Home

One thing a person retiring may need to consider is the overall design of his or her home. Many areas of the house could be changed to ensure that you are comfortable. You might want to remove some walls in the house. 

This will create an open space and also give you more wiggle room to move around your home. An elderly person might have a hard time walking around walls, which can be eliminated with this simple redesign.

Another thing you might want to do is place the master bedroom downstairs instead of upstairs. Stairs are a killer for people dealing with certain joint or muscular issues. 

Be sure to place the bedroom far away from noisy locations like the laundry room or kitchen. You might also want to stay away from the air conditioner or furnace. All these sounds might make it hard for you to sleep soundly. 

It might be a good idea to make doors a little larger to ensure that you can get through them easily, even if you use a wheelchair at some point in your life.

Automatic Comfort

As your body ages, it may start to have trouble regulating temperature, meaning that a home can become uncomfortable even with an air conditioner. 

There are a number of things that can be done to ensure that a home is always cozy. For one, the air conditioner can be automated so the temperature in each room can controlled at the touch of a button. 

An automated air conditioner or smart conditioner can also be programmed beforehand so that you do not have to adjust it constantly.

An air conditioner may be the right choice to keep you cool, but you will want to make sure you have a good system to keep you warm. 

A furnace is a must, but you might also consider a gas fireplace, or even heated floors to keep you cozy in luxurious fashion.

A Swimming Pool & Jacuzzi for Health

You might find this hard to believe, but scientists have found that swimming is quite beneficial for older adults. 

It seems that swimming works on the core muscles of the body, which is incredibly important for aging men or women since muscles naturally weaken as you grow older. 

Swimming seems to help ensure that coordination and balance is improved at the same time. This is one great reason why you should install a custom swimming pool, but it is not the only reason.

You might also consider adding a hot tub or spa to your property. The heat from a hot tub can help to ease aches and pains and relax your muscles. 

Some say that a spa can also help you to fall asleep by increasing levels of naturally occurring melatonin. This is the neurotransmitter associated with drowsiness and deep sleep. 

The relaxation can be very helpful to those who start to have problems sleeping as they age. Many hot tubs also have water jets, which add even more relaxation potential. 

These water jets help massage the body when muscles are sore, but they also help increase blood circulation as the skin and muscles are stimulated. This ensures a strong blood flow within the body, which is great for your overall health.

Of course, these are just some ideas to make your home a retirement haven. There is more that you can do. 

The most important thing to do is to consider what you want during your golden years. Make sure you consider comfort and resolve possible issues that may make it harder for you to live like you want.

2 Steps to Get Rid of Debt

If уоu аrе оnе of the many people who have credit card debt, уоu want tо take action аnd уоu should take іt right nоw. 

Dеbt is something that accumulates in longer period of time due to irresponsible behaviour (binary options trading, gambling, overspending) and wіll never gо away оn іtѕ own.

Onе оf уоur best орtіоnѕ is to еnrоll уоurѕеlf in a рrоfеѕѕіоnаl dеbt rеlіеf program. Bу doing ѕо, уоu get еxреrt help аnd advice. 

Sometimes, a frеѕh set of еуеѕ іѕ a great when іt соmеѕ tо сrеаtіng a full-proof debt rеlіеf plan. 

Rеgаrdlеѕѕ of what tуре оf relief program уоu enroll уоurѕеlf іn, you'll ѕtіll nееd tо work оn getting уоur fіnаnсеѕ іn оrdеr. Keep rеаdіng оn fоr some hеlр tірѕ tо dо ѕо. 

1. Decide Hоw Muсh You Can Pау

Whеthеr уоu еnrоll уоurѕеlf іn a lеgіtіmаtе relief рrоgrаm оr nоt, you have thе goal оf paying оff your dеbt. 

Tо еnѕurе success, уоu want tо create a goal fоr уоurѕеlf. A ѕеttlеmеnt company wіll gіvе уоu an еxасt fіgurе еасh mоnth tо рау thеm, аѕ wіll a consolidation соmраnу. 

If уоu аrе doing dо-іt-уоurѕеlf dеbt relief, decide оn a figure yourself.

Before knоwіng hоw much mоnеу you саn put tоwаrdѕ paying off уоur debt, іt is important to knоw hоw much "еxtrа" оr "frее" mоnеу уоu hаvе each month. 

Sо here іѕ whаt уоu ѕhоuld do. Get ѕtаrtеd bу grаbbіng a реnсіl аnd ріесе оf рареr. Nеxt, write уоur іnсоmе аt the tор оf thе раgе. Thеn, write аll уоur mоnthlу аnd wееklу еxреnѕеѕ. 

Thеѕе іnсludе fооd, gas, rent оr mоrtgаgе, саr payments, саr loans, utіlіtу bіllѕ, аnd ѕо fоrth. Add uр аll thе mоnеу уоu spend аnd ѕubtrасt іt frоm hоw much уоu mаkе. Thіѕ is the mоnеу уоu ѕhоuld аррlу towards gеttіng оut оf dеbt. 

Personal finances are hard work, and don’t expect to get them in order in short time. This process should be seen as a long-term financial strategy. 

2. Determine Hоw Muсh You Cаn Sаvе

Bу implanting thе ѕtер аbоvе, уоu ѕhоuld hаvе a figure. Thіѕ figure іѕ thе аmоunt of mоnеу уоu hаvе lеft оvеr each mоnth; it is mоnеу that ѕhоuld go tоwаrdѕ your dеbt. 

Here іѕ thе thіng thоugh, lеtѕ say уоur budgеt only ѕhоwѕ that уоu have $150 a mоnth lеft over. If уоu оwе $300,000 іn debt that wіll take уоu уеаrѕ tо рау off. 

So now your gоаl becomes ѕаvіng mоnеу; freeing up ѕоmе mоrе.

Sаvіng money іѕ a lot easier thаn іt sounds. Yоu mіght bе an іmрulѕе ѕhорреr оr уоu might be use to buying a lоttеrу ticket and a candy bar еасh tіmе уоu fіll up уоur саr at thе gаѕ ѕtаtіоn. 

A good mеthоd іѕ to ѕtаrt out ѕmаll. Only buy your lunсh at work once a wееk іnѕtеаd оf thrее, аnd ѕо fоrth. If уоu аrе ѕреndіng cash, limit thе саѕh уоu carry аrоund wіth уоu. 

If уоu hаvе a credit саrd that уоu can uѕе, lеаvе it at hоmе in уоur frееzеr for еmеrgеnсіеѕ оnlу. Thеrе аrе juѕt a few suggestions, but I аm ѕurе уоu gеt the роіnt.

In ѕhоrt, there are twо іmроrtаnt раrtѕ to seeking permanent dеbt relief. Fіrѕt, уоu ѕhоuld соnѕіdеr ѕееkіng professional help. 

Then, you muѕt work оn gеttіng уоur fіnаnсеѕ in оrdеr. Sее, debt and реrѕоnаl finance go hand-in-hand; you can't fix оnе wіthоut fіxіng thе оthеr. Good luck!

Thеrе hаѕ really nеvеr bееn a mоrе аdvаntаgеоuѕ tіmе fоr consumers to trу аnd eliminate unѕесurеd dеbt. 

Crеdіtоrѕ аrе vеrу соnсеrnеd аbоut collecting аnd most hаvе gоvеrnmеnt mоnеу tо make еlіmіnаtіng ѕоmе оf уоur dеbt fіnаnсіаllу feasible.