Since the end of the recession, millions of Americans have made significant strides in trying to reduce their debts, particularly with regard to their credit cards. More recently, however, balances held nationwide have fluctuated somewhat, with the most recent data showing a slight increase in April. The total amount of consumer credit card debt held nationwide rose about 1 percent… Read More

With holiday spending expected to soar this year and some consumers using their favorite piece of plastic to front the cash, credit card balances are on the top of everyone’s mind. Since a higher credit utilization ratio (total balances to total credit limits) can hurt your credit score, balances do matter. To see if your… Read More

While people around the world are still reeling from the recent recession, many consumers now feel they’re in a better position to handle added debt and spending, and that was reflected in third-quarter statistics from the world’s second-largest card payment processor. MasterCard saw the number of transactions it handled on its branded debit and credit… Read More

In the past year or more, consumer borrowing has been on the rise despite Americans’ efforts to curb their credit card use. However, even those accounts carried more debt at the end of August. Consumer credit – that is, the total amount of debt owed to lenders on both credit cards and installment loans not including… Read More

The amount of money owed to lenders on all types of credit declined once again in the second quarter of the year, as did the total number of accounts that were behind on payments. Both measures indicate consumers may be getting a better handle on their finances. Consumer debt slipped $53 billion from the first… Read More

Once again in June, the overall amount of money owed by consumers to their various lenders increased, but at the same time, Americans were able to slash their credit card balances. The total amount owed on credit card debts slipped 5.1 percent in June to a total of $864.6 billion from May’s $868.3 billion, according to… Read More

There’s not much to be happy about in the current economy. But there is one tiny glint of positive news amid all the headlines: At least we’re getting out of debt! American credit card debt (revolving) decreased by $6.3 billion dollars in December. If you figure the average credit card rate is about 10% these days, we’ve saved up to $520 million on interest charges on our credit card debt.

If Nancy’s late payment on her mortgage was less than 90-days overdue and a one-time occurrence, it shouldn’t cause lasting damage to her credit score. Read more about how late payments really work online. As for the other bad things on her credit report, usually there is nothing that can be done to remove negative records before their 7-10 year expiration date.
Nancy may be able to improve her credit scores now by working on some other important factors. Having 2-6 active credit cards on her report, using at least one credit card each month, paying all her bills on time and keeping her credit card balances low can all help boost her credit scores. Once she reduces her debts, her credit scores should improve within a few weeks. The only delay is the time it takes the credit card company to report her new account information to the credit bureaus.