Tip #66: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that small differences in credit scores or loan interest rates won’t make a big impact

A few points on a credit score can mean the difference between a lender offering you a prime rate reserved for the best credit risks and the worse interest rate offered to less than prime customers.  This may amount to only a few percentages in different loan rates, but this can make a huge impact, especially on a large purchase.  For example, a few percentage points on a long-term fixed-rate loan can mean the difference between tens of thousands of dollars saved - or tens of thousands of dollars overspent. 

It is in your best interest to boost your credit score by every percentage point you can and to fight for the very lowest interest rate loans you can. After all, if you have larger payments each month due to a higher interest rate than you deserve, it will be harder for you to repay your bills.  Also, you will qualify for fewer loans if you have higher-than-needed interest rates, as you will be able to afford fewer of the larger monthly payments.
     

Tip#67: If you need to repair your credit, stay organized with a to-do list that ensures you won’t forget anything

As you can likely tell by now, credit repair is not one magical solution but rather lots of relatively small things you can do to help repair your credit.  To make sure that you don’t over look any one thing, you may want to develop a to do list that you can post and check off.

You may list credit accounts you need to close, accounts you need to pay down, people you need to contact, and things you need to check out or research.  As you tick off each item, you will get a real sense of accomplishment knowing that you are taking steps to improve your finances.  Keeping a credit repair checklist posted will also keep you on track and let you know what you still need to do.

Tip #68: Automate your finances

Thanks to automatic bank payments, you can have your bills taken out of your checking account each month or even charged to your credit card.  If you are the sort of person who gets dings on their credit report because you can never remember to pay your bills on time, this can be a very useful service. 

You can even set up your email service to send you automatic reminders of bills that are due soon so that you can pay them.  This sort of automation is one of the nicer things about high-tech living and can help you keep your credit score clean if your credit score suffers mainly from your own forgetfulness or disorganization.