Ben Edwards's Blog: Money Smart Life, page 12

Improve Your Credit Score in 5 Simple Steps

Improving your credit score can be simple if you know what steps to follow. If you have poor credit, bad credit, or simply want to improve your credit score, there are specific steps you can take to make it happen. Your credit score is computed mainly using:

Payment history
Type of credit you have
Length of your credit history
Your outstanding balances
New credit you’ve established

Each of these items is weighted differently, but tweaking all of them can play a role in increasing your credit score....

Paying Off Your Mortgage vs Paying Down Your Mortgage

Should you pay off your mortgage, pay down your mortgage, or simply just make regular mortgage payments? This is a decision facing many of us because one of the biggest purchases we make in a lifetime is a home. Since few of us can afford to pay cash for a house, most of us use a mortgage for the purchase so the majority of homeowners owe money to a lender.

It’s been a long debate among professional money advisors on whether homeowners should suck up making the monthly mortgage payment, pay do...

5 Personality Traits that Can Help You Pay Off Debt

Are you trying to pay off debt? It can seem like a long slog sometimes . . . especially if you haven’t developed personal traits that can help you in your efforts.

If you want to pay off debt there are some essential personality traits that you need to develop (if you don’t have them already):

1. Self-Control

The first thing you need to develop if you want to pay off debt is self-control. You need to be able to say no to things – even if you think you want them.

If you plan to pay off debt, the v...

Do You Have a Debt Payoff Support System?

Debt is often very difficult to handle. Indeed, debt affects more than your finances; it can also affect your emotional wellbeing and impact your relationships. As you tackle debt, it is important that you have a debt payoff support system. Do your best to find people that can help you stick with your goal while providing emotional support.

Who’s in Your Debt Payoff Support System?

As you prepare to pay down your debt, consider the people in your support system. You want to find people who can...

10 Ways to Get Ahead at Work

Many of us are looking for ways to get ahead at work.

Whether it’s looking for a promotion, or whether you are looking to get a new job, or whether you just want better job satisfaction, there are things you can do to enhance your marketability.

If you want to advance further in your career – and in your life – here are some ways to get ahead at work:

1. Know what you’re good at and play to your strengths.

One of the best things you can do for your career is to understand your strengths and play...

3 Ways to Teach Your Kids About Investing

When I was growing up, my parents didn’t spend any time teaching me about investing. They talked about saving, minimizing debt, and making wise spending choices, but investing didn’t come up in conversation.

I didn’t realize that investing was something I could actually get involved in until I was in college. I’m determined to make sure that my son has some experience with investing before he leaves the house.

If you want to teach your kids about investing, here are a few things you can do to h...

Credit Score Improvements: What You Should Know

As technology advances, and as credit score algorithms become more sophisticated, efforts are being made to measure more consumer behaviors, and to include the more subtle shadings of consumer credit use.

Changes being made to scoring models, as well as inclusions of non-credit data in your credit report, might help financial service providers get a more accurate picture of what sort of credit risk you really are.

Experian to Start Tracking Rent Payments

One of the major credit bureaus, Experian...

50 Books for 2014

I’m on a mission to help bloggers create 50 books in 2014.

Why?

When I self-published last spring I had a reason to write (and finish) a book – the launch of the Debt Movement. Without that deadline the Debt Heroes book wouldn’t exist.

During the process I met amazing people, learned a ton, and like to think we helped a lot of readers. Being part of a movement was a great experience so I’m starting another movement, to help bloggers share their experience and stories via self-published books.

I g...

5 Ways to Own Your New Year’s Resolutions

As this year ends and a new one begins, we set out to make our New Year’s resolutions. Two primary themesusually emerge – getting into shape and saving more money.

Unfortunately for us, author and psychologist Richard Wiseman found that 88% of people who make New Year’s resolutions don’t keep them. Here are some ways that can help you become one ofthe 12% of people that do reach their money goals.

1. Break down your goal.

When you sit down to commit to your New Year’s resolution do you know wher...

How to Negotiate to Keep Your Cable Promo Rate

One of life’s “sure things” is that, at some point, your cable promo rate is going to expire, and you are going to be stuck with a higher rate for the remainder of your contract.

While some experts recommend that you call and threaten to cancel (and eat the termination fee that comes with quitting your contract early), or mention the possibility of switching to a competitor, Linsey Knerl from 1099Mom.com has a different idea. “I have experienced the dreaded rate like, like all other cable subs...