You might have heard of the phrase ‘credit rating’ before, but you might not know exactly what it means. A credit rating is basically an evaluation of how well placed you are to pay back your loans. This may be used in conjunction with an appraisal of your credit report, which is basically a list of all the times you have applied for credit. When you apply for any kind of loan, both of these come into play, and it may be more difficult for you to be approved for a loan if you have a bad credit rating. To prevent this from happening, make sure you avoid the following.
1. Bad Planning
Bad financial planning and budgeting can eventually lead you down the path to a bad credit rating. If you have a mortgage or any kind of big personal loan, make sure you have a long-term plan in place to pay it off and try to have a backup plan as well, just in case you fall into any other financial trouble along the way.
2. Credit Card Overuse
If you rely on your credit card a lot to get you to your next payday, beware! This might seem like the way to go now but, unless you are extremely disciplined with your financials, you may find yourself relying on your credit card more and more. If it gets to the point where you are unable to pay back your monthly statement on time, consider limiting your use of the card to desperate times.
3. Loaning Too Much
Many people make the mistake of attempting to pay off their current debts by loaning money from elsewhere, and this can very predictably lead to a snowball effect. This can earn you a bad credit rating, not only because the interest rates accrued from this method are extremely high, but also because this often means you cannot pay off your loans with the money you generate yourself.
4. MissingPayments
If you have missed payments on anything that is considered credit – including credit cards, personal loans, or even something as simple as a phone bill, this can affect your credit rating. There is usually a fair amount of leeway given for late payments, but be aware that too many late or missing payments can drastically affect your credit rating.
5. Spending More than You Earn
This goes hand in hand with poor budgeting and overusing your lines of credit. If the amount of money leaving your accounts is greater than the amount entering, this will eventually lead to a bad credit rating. Budget well and you will not have this problem anymore!
If you already have a bad credit rating, do not fear! You are probably still able to get a loan if you need to, especially for important items like electronics and cars; you might want to look into obtaining a bad credit car loan, for example. There are specialists, such as Dreamloans, who can definitely help you on your way. As with everything finance-related, make sure you do all the proper research before you commit to anything.
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