1. BALANCING LIFE’S ISSUES, INC. Everything You Need to Know About Your Credit

2. Fast Amazing Facts Between 1989 and 2001 credit tripled in America 54% paid their bills in full 23% pay late fees 59% know their credit scores 36% do not have any idea what they are paying in interest

3. It is a threat to your financial security Creates a hole that can be hard to dig out off Can quickly go from bad to worse (prob’s don’t fix themselves) Increases the cost of borrowing, causing us to spend more than we have to Can ruin a household budget What Can a Bad Credit Score Mean?

4. How Long Will It Take Your To Pay-off Your Balance? Current balance: $5,000 Interest rate: 14% Minimum payment: $108.33 (1% + int.) Pay-off period:264 months! Interest expense: $5,333!!

5. Why do I need a Good Credit Score? A better credit score means it will cost you less to borrow Necessary to buy a new home, finance a business venture, a new car Fund higher education Opens up new opportunities Prepares you for “what if” situations Follow you for your whole life Can be used by employers in certain situations

6. What is FICO? Fair Isaac Company Developed custom software back in the 1980’s Prior to Fair Isaac credit was given out randomly, secretively and there was often discrimanation Set statistical equation to make it as fair as possible

7. What goes into my FICO score? Based on information provided by your lenders: 35% Payment history Single easiest way to raise your scores is to pay your bills on time 30% Amount Owed  How much outstanding debt do you have 15% How long have you had your cards 10% New credit 10% How often do you use your credit cards

8. How do I get my report? What are my lenders saying about me? Go to www.annualcreditreport.comwww.annualcreditreport.com Get 1 free report annually from each agency 3 credit reporting agencies: Experian, Transunion, Equifax Stagger your requests (one every 4 months)

9. Once you get your report... Check for mistakes!  25% of all credit reports have mistakes that need to be fixed  79% have careless errors (misspellings of names or wrong addresses that need to be fixed) Report errors to the credit bureau and the lender filing the bad info  disputes must be responded to within 30 days  corrections will probably take longer Work on improving your report immediately

10. How do I get my score? It costs money to get your scores… your credit reports are free www.myficoscore.com costs $15.95/ year www.myficoscore.com Scores range from 300 to 850 (best)

11. Debt Management Programs Help is available with debt counselors DMP can help negotiate with lenders, streamline your payments, remove stress Find reputable, qualified counselors through National Foundation for Credit Counseling (www.NFCC.org) Debtors anonymous is a not-for-profit organization that helps get your spending under control (www.debtorsanonymous.org)

12. Take Aways Pay your bills on time Never use all your credit… Lenders look at how much you have left over Apply for loans together.. So a new car and home equity Closing and Opening accounts can hurt your FICO score Teach your children as young as possible to be financially literate

13. More Take Aways When you can, pay off the balance in full. If you are holding money in savings while racking up credit card balances at a higher rate, you are losing money. Pay more than the minimum Seek help – debt management programs Debtors anonymous is a not-for-profit organization that helps get your spending under control Make a list of all your credit cards Control your spending and live below your means