Negative information on your credit report can be reported for up to seven years, but sometimes longer if it is serious. The length of time noted in these bullet points means from the start time of your late payment or delinquency, not the last time you made a payment on the amount. Some collection agencies, though, will update their reports to keep your account active with the credit bureaus so they can lengthen the time a negative item stays on your report. You do have a right to challenge this and you should if it happens to you!

So what are some of the negative items that are put on your credit report?

• Bankruptcy information can stay on your credit report for 10 years
• Tax Liens can stay on your credit report for 7 years after they are paid
• US Government insured or guaranteed student loans can be reported for 7 years after certain guarantor actions
• An application for $50,000 or more worth of credit of life insurance can actually stay on your report forever.
• Information about a lawsuit or judgment against you can stay on your report for 7 years.

APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is a simple financial concept to grasp, however, calculating your APR is a much more difficult task. APR is the interest rate you are signed up to pay when dealing with credit and loans. Taking that interest rate you receive and dividing it by 365 (the number of days in a year) will give you a basic, yet not exact, amount that you will actually have to pay back in interest on any loan you take out.


For instance, if you take out a loan for $1,000 dollars at 10% APR and have to pay it back in one year with one payment, you are left with the equation of: ($1000 x 10% x 365 days (billing cycle of one year))/365 days) = $100 in interest. Add $1000 dollars to that and you will know the total loan cost will be $1100 dollars.

Of course this could never be accurate, especially if you are dealing with credit. Your credit account is constantly changing as you rack up purchases. If you pay off all debts before the end of a billing period, you don’t pay interest; however, if you can’t pay back the balance in full you can be stiffed with harsh APR interest. Following billing periods can increase the amount you own in interest if previous interest debts aren’t removed from the credit accounts.

APR rates are made difficult to calculate as different lenders process loan and credit applications differently. Some lenders process the applications manually using information an applicant has provided in order to determine an APR. In most instances, seeing as how we live in a world dependent on technology, it is determined by computer software. Different APR processing software programs can use the same information, but provide two different APR rates pending what is actually integrated into the loan interest.

What fees make up parts of the APR?

It is not always known what makes up the whole of APR, but it is safe to say that in some loan APR rates, the following fees are compromised within the Annual Percentage Rate itself. Discount points and origination points are common factors. Interest paid from the loan closing date until the end of the month, generally assumed to be an average of 15 days of interest to be paid, will be included. This number is known to be inconsistent, ranging from 1 – 30 days depending on what loan provider you use. Loan processing, underwriting, and preparation fees are there, as well as private mortgage insurance in the case that you are preparing a mortgage loan. Loan application and credit life insurance are two factors that may come into play, but perhaps not with every lender.

What is not (normally) included in the Annual Percentage Rate?

There are several fees that will not usually be calculated into fixing your APR rate. These are just some of the fees that shouldn’t make up your interest rate. If they do, you may want to examine other lenders that can provide you with a better rate on relevant data. Titles, abstract, escrow, notary, home-inspection, recording, and an appraisal fee should all be left separate from your APR calculations. Credit reports and transfer taxes should be detached from your APR, as well.

Be cautious of hidden APR rates and fees

When shopping around for credit and loan lenders, be aware that APR should be a deciding factor in choosing the lender. However, many loan and credit lenders try to trick new homeowners and those lacking in fiscal knowledge by making them deals to good to be true.

In every loan and credit document you examine, do not skip the fine print. The fine print may entail the true APR rate you will receive after the “low-introductory” interest rate. Be sure to know what will happen to your APR in case you can’t prepare a payment on time. Commonly, this is known to make your APR suffer with incredibly high rates, and that doesn’t even include the fees you will have to pay for missing a payment. Credit cards may allow cash advances, but these cash advances charge much higher interest than that of basic charges on your credit account. This is also apparent for checks from credit lenders, as well.

What should you ask a credit lender about APR before you sign for a new credit account (loan, credit card, etc.)?

Doing research on what will make the best loan account for you is an excellent way to gain wisdom and financial responsibility; asking a loan lender personally is a second step you can take in order to gain a better look at which loan might be better for you.

Ask the loan lender whether the loan interest (APR) rate it fixed or can vary. This could greatly affect how your payments will look month by month.

Another choice inquiry to make is to ask what charges aren’t inclusive with the APR. What are those charges, are they truly necessary, and how and when would you have to pay them?

An all important question that you need to ask yourself, as well as your lender, is can you afford this loan or line of credit? A loan with a high APR rate can be extended out over longer periods of time if you don’t feel you can make larger payments on shorter loan billing periods. While this is excellent for those that may not be able to pay higher charges, in the long run this will cost you more money. This is because you will be charged interest over a longer period of time and on higher amounts, too.

How to pick the best loan based on APR

The number one way to find the best loan for yourself is to get down and dirty with research into what makes any loan tick, and what affects your APR. The Internet is a bountiful mountain of information on APR, interest, loans, and credit. Find loans that suit your preferences, and then ask for expert advice by comparing loans with similar payment terms. Asking for the honest opinion of a loan lender on which loan will keep your losses at the lowest amount possible is essential to getting the absolute best loan rate with any APR that you can get.

With the introduction of plastic money resources, credit cards and debit cards, it has been easier to get through payment processes with a swipe of that magnetic strip or simply entering in the digits on our keyboard to make purchases online. The debit card and credit card work similarly enough, and despite the differences being very vast, many people still can’t seem to spot why a debit or credit card may be better to use than the other. Being an informed consumer is an important step in making the correct financial decisions, and knowing whether you should use debit or credit is one of the first decisions you should make.

Where are you getting your money?

The most obvious difference between debit and credit cards is the source of cash from which you are drafting money from while making purchases. A debit card uses your bank accounts as its drawing source. While withdrawing money from an ATM or fueling up your gas tank, the money taken or paid is drawn out of the savings or checking account connected with that card. When dealing with debit cards, the limit on the money you use is exactly how much you have in your bank account.
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Credit card debt is one of the worst financial situations you can manage to get yourself in. If you are sitting there, looking at multiple credit card statements and only sending just enough money to your creditors to cover the minimum payments due, you are making one of the least efficient financial choices you could ever make. By the time you end up paying off those debts with minimum payments, you’ll have acquired so much in interest that you’ll pay double, or more, of what you actually racked up on those credit cards.


Failing to pay and continuing to dig yourself deeper into a hole of credit card debt, you’ll find your credit score gradually slip. This will affect nearly every aspect of your life. With a bad credit score you’ll have a more difficult time finding a better job. You won’t be able to purchase or lease that new hybrid-electric car you want because you can’t charge your credit card with the price of gas as it is. No bank will even come close to considering you for any type of loan, and if you somehow had the thought that you could buy a new house, kiss that dream goodbye.
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It’s safe to see that a majority of most consumers carry some sort of credit card, and it would be absurd to think that any entrepreneur wouldn’t have a credit card. The credit card is the best source of payment when we just don’t have that large amount of cash on our hands. Business owners and entrepreneurs can use credit cards to turn those otherwise fiscally impossible purchases into easily obtainable items and services until withholding payments until the end of their credit card billing period. For those able to manage their credit and financial responsibilities it is a powerful tool, but are you using the right tool?
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If you have absolutely no credit or no credit history, you could find it pretty difficult to apply and be approved to receive a credit card. The most likely reason reason you don’t have credit is because you’ve just turn 18. At the age of 18 you are legally allowed to be a new owner of that shiny credit card you’ve always dreamed of.

Wielding a credit card at such a young age can be dangerous. Young people are usually unaware of the dangers of credit card debt, and the ease of being able to purchase nearly anything you want, instantly, without cash makes that danger much more clear. However, establishing credit at a young age is easier than doing it later in your life. On top of this, credit will help you further down the road by allowing you to take out loans, create better opportunities for you in the job market, let you purchase/lease a car, as well as eventually allowing you to purchase your very own house. Ah, the power of the credit card is a wonderful thing.
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Gather together with 3 other adult friends and go out to dinner together. One question you may want to ask them, as well as yourself, is if they have checked their credit report for errors lately. In a recent survey, it was found that of all credit reports surveyed, nearly 25 percent of them reported some sort of error.

Many credit reports with errors go unnoticed to the person the credit report belongs to. While in some cases, mistakes may be small, others can cause huge dips in your credit score. These dips in your credit score can disable your chances to get jobs, acquire loans, as well as the ability to buy a new car or house.
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A credit score, put simply, is a number that decides how creditworthy and dependable a person will be when it comes to paying their bills and paying back money an individual has borrowed. This score is a simple 3-digit number that can summarize up your whole credit report to creditors and lenders, basically grounding you down into a “lend to” or “do not lend to” category. It’s an important number, as it is one factor that lets you take out loans for computers, houses, cars, is a main benefactor in the type of insurance rates you get, and can basically say whether or not you are reliable enough to have more credit accounts opened.
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How Many Credit Cards Should You Have?

According to statistics from loan and credit agencies, the average American holds anywhere from 5 to 10 credit cards, plus several loan payments. On average, that comes out to 13 credit accounts. That number is a bit outstanding according to credit experts. With all these credit cards and loan usages coming into play, this leaves nearly 85% of all Americans in some sort of non-mortgage related debt. Of those people, nearly 32% are in credit and loan debts of more than $10,000. Yikes!
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