The Fed Releases New Credit Score Rules

One of the more annoying realities of consumer life is the fact that the formula the determines credit scores is kept secret. Like the locked-in-a-vault formula used to make Coca-Cola, we have a pretty good idea of the ingredients and mixtures, but yet, we don't know precisely how our credit score or Coca-Cola is created.

But there is some good news. Thanks to the Fed, it is going to be much easier to at least know your credit score. It used to be that the major credit score rating agencies would only allow you to access your credit score once per year for free, making you wonder how much it had changed by the time a bank or other financial institution made a decision about your credit worthiness. But now, a new law passed at the behest of The Federal Reserve allows consumers to find out the credit score that banks see when they make any decision that affects your credit at the institution. Frankly, this has been a long time coming. If a bank raises your rate, you absolutely should have the right to know whether they thought that you had a credit score of 760 or 660. This is a common sense law that greatly benefits and empowers consumers--if you know the bank's basis for making a decision, you at least can form your own opinion about whether the bank acted fairly or not. This is a great victory for transparency in the credit industry. Be sure to visit the website Credit Karma for a great article on the topic, link here: http://blog.creditkarma.com/credit-karma/see-your-credit-score-for-free-starting-july-21-%E2%80%A6but-only-if-you-apply-for-credit/ . 

Get Out of Debt Advice & The Benefits of Coupons

Matt Jabs over at Debt Free Adventure put out a good post about the ways that those of us in low-income brackets can rapidly get great returns on investments. While those earning six figure salaries may not jump big hurdles to pick up a $25 savings here and there, it can be a tremendous boon for those of us scraping to get by. A lot of the advice is pretty straightforward. No one gets ahead paying 18% interest rates on a Visa account, so if you can pay it off, that is by far the best thing you can do to get a good return on your money. If you find yourself in the fortunate position of not having any debt, then you can use coupons and other effective tools to greatly reduce grocery expenses. Most Sunday newspapers contain substantial handouts of 'buy 1 get 1 free' ads and other semi-lucrative offers, and if you can cut 10-25% off your grocery bill, then you can put yourself in the fortuitous position of having a little extra money left over to invest, put in an emergency fund, or designate for some other long-term purchase. To catch a look at some of Mr. Jabs' ideas for freeing up some additional income, check out his work at Debt Free Adventure, link here: http://www.debtfreeadventure.com/high-return-investments-for-low-income-people-oliva-answered/