I just saw an ad (on TV) that deserved a comment. In the commercial, a woman, who maxed out multiple credit cards – even after getting new cards to do balance transfers – over a great period of time, claimed to have solved all her credit problems (or at least her credit management problem) by visiting a website and getting her credit reports from all 3 major credit-reporting agencies.
Why does this deserve a post? Because it’s wrong! If you have problems like this – consistently overusing your credit, especially maxing-out cards – knowing that you have created a problem is not enough. The 4- or 5-digit balances on your statements ought to take care of that.
If you consistently are obtaining and using more and more credit – by, for example, filling out 10% or more of the credit offers you get in the mail – you need to get somebody to help you manage your credit and hold you accountable. This can be a family member, but it’s probably best if it’s a professional, or at least a non-relative.
Check out my finance page for more tips and information about money and credit management.