“Success is waking up in the morning and bounding out of bed because there’s something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that you’re good at – something that’s bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again.”
– Whit Hobbs

There’s at least 2 different ways to respond to this quote…

1. Rush out and quit your job if you don’t love it… and it’s EXTREMELY IMPORTANT YOU KNOW I AM NOT TELLING YOU TO DO THIS!!!!!!

2. Shift your perspective on what you do. Sometimes when I feel in a rut with my work I spice it up by making it a competition with myself…

- I may dare myself to take on a new challenge…
- Bet myself I can’t reach a certain goal in a set time period…
- Think of my tasks as a puzzle to be solved, a treasure to be hunted or a mystery to uncover…this can give mundane tasks some life, intrigue or at least renew some lost interest.

Bet, dare and or challenge yourself to increase your credit score at least “X’ number of points within the next 90 days…

I dare you to try the 740 credit score mind shift!!!

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now

Last week I did a few posts on financial pitfalls to avoid in an effort to help us all learn from common errors people make that often drastically affect your credit score and financial well-being in a negative fashion.

Today I have a few more tips for you to keep in mind…

1. Carelessly giving out your Social Security number especially on the internet.
2. Carelessly giving out your bank account number
3. Carelessly giving out personal and confidential information

One of the fastest growing crimes today is identity theft and what is so tragic is most people have no idea how devastating it can be and how simple some of the steps are to protect yourself from it.

If someone manages to steal your identity they now have the ability to access and max out your credit and ability to obtain new credit.

This crime can not only lead a victim to financial ruin, but it can unjustly destroy their reputation, career, family and emotional health.

Be careful with any personal and banking information…. never assume a seemingly innocent phone call, email or store clerk asking is a safe place. If you are unsure than don’t offer any info… do some research and ensure not only if the source is secure but that it’s necessary they are asking for this information.

Another great way to protect yourself from ID theft is to regularly obtain your credit score and look for any unauthorized activity.

If you see anything suspicious call immediately and get more details.

Previous posts on protecting your credit score

More Tips to Protect Your Credit Score

Beware! Protect Your Credit Score

We All Make Mistakes But…

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now

By learning from history we can prevent making mistakes costly to our bank accounts, retirement and credit score.

Last week I make a couple posts with a few tips on pitfalls to watch for and will place the links to those previous posts at the end of today’s post.

Meanwhile here are some new ones to consider…

1. If at all possible don’t finance your education on credit cards. Do your very best to secure student loans instead. With the high interest rates credit cards charge you are setting yourself up for some “hurt” by carrying that much debt for a lengthy period of time on charge cards.

2. This one may sound obvious but… don’t get addicted to gambling. Many “gamblers” don’t think they’re addicted but if you keep track of how much you gamble monthly and it surprises you than you may have a problem. Any amount you can’t afford to lose is not wise to gamble with.

3. Lack of budgeting… again this may seem obvious but keep track of ALL your expenses for one full month and add up all your unnecessary expenses and you may reconsider having a tighter budget.

All of these things if kept under control will do wonders for your credit score and your financial health in general.

Previous posts…

Beware! Protect Your Credit Score

We All Make Mistakes But…

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now

All work and no play makes one grumpy and miserable and unable to enjoy all they’ve worked for (loosely quoted Proverb)

Work hard on improving your credit score, your career and your finances but don’t forget to unplug once in awhile and enjoy it.

Have some fun this week-end!

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now

If your credit score is low and you are in need of a loan it is advisable to speak with any potential lenders in person.

If you send in a credit app by email or through the internet the lender only sees you as a number and if the number (your credit score) is low than I’m sure you can guess what their response will be.

However if you go in to see the lender you get a chance to sell yourself a bit, put on the charm, dress up nice and it makes it more difficult for someone to say “no” to a person’s face than a piece of paper.

The other benefit of a meeting is you get the opportunity to explain your side of the story as to why your credit score is where it’s at.

This approach is more work but can be extremely effective.

So put on your smiley face, a nice outfit and go see some lenders…

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe, Tennis Player

Yesterday my 2 sons and I attacked their playroom…

At the end of a few hours we had 4 huge garbage bags full of…yes…GARBAGE!

We also had 4 garbage bags filled with toys we will give away.

When we first started it seemed overwhelming, but we had to start somewhere…

There were only 3 of us, but we could only use what we had…

We didn’t completely finish, but we could only do what we what we could.

It would have been easy to look at where we were in the beginning and say “it’s too much work, we need more help and it won’t make that big of a difference” …

…which are the exact excuses most of us use for not getting or improving your credit score, starting a budget or working on your financial situation.

It’s amazing the difference the 3 of us made in a few short hours by starting where we were, using what we had and doing what we could.

How can you use the same strategy to help achieve your financial dreams and goals?

Recommended Reading

• Free Credit Score
• Minimum Credit Score for FHA Loan – Will Your Credit Score Qualify?
• Minimum Credit Score for Mortgage – Will Your Credit Score Get You Approved?
• Get Your Free Credit Score Now