Week of 5/20-So Close but yet So Far.

Here's a quick story about 'so close but yet so far.'

I heard a story yesterday of a potential client who was looking to take some cash out of a property she owned so she could take advantage of a once in a lifetime business opportunity. She talked about her property, what she needed the cash for and the conversation finally got around to her credit. The excitement in her voice about the business opportunity dropped to almost nothing when the conversation turned to her credit score.

Her score ended up being 5 points BELOW where it needed to be in order to do the deal. 5 measly points!!! It was a heartbreaker when she was told that there was nothing that could be done to help her.

Ccould she pay a credit card bill down to less than 50% of the balance, did she have an old collection that was going to drop off, were there any late payments that were maybe 23 months old that may stop hurting her score in the next 30 days. Sadly, the answer to all of the above was no.

That's the delicate balance with credit. Manage it properly and the world is your oyster, make the wrong choices and it can hamper you from maximizing what possibilities life presents to you.

For more on credit management and personal finance, and information on my upcoming book 'Control Your Credit Destiny' and workbook & software set 'Controlling Your Credit Destiny', visit my website at http://www.johnalittle.com/.

Did you know? Week of 5/14

Did you know that 35% of your credit score is based on your payment history?

This history is broken into three components:

1. Recency – the length of time that has elapsed since a delinquency.

- If a person has a late payment report on their credit report, initially that delinquency will have a very negative affect on the credit score. As the delinquency ages, it will have a lessening negative affect on the score. Use the 3 below categories to gage how severe a recent late payment will affect a credit score

• 0-6 months – A very negative affect on the borrower’s credit.

• 7-23 months – A moderate negative affect on the borrower’s credit.

• 24+ months – When a delinquency drops out of having a negative affect.

2. Frequency - The frequency of delinquencies.

3. Severity – HOW delinquent a person was: 30, 60, 90, 120 days late etc.

For more information on credit management and personal finance, visit my website at www.johnalittle.com and be on the look out for my upcoming book, 'Control Your Credit Destiny' as well as my upcoming workbook and CD 'Controlling Your Credit Destiny' both due out August '07.

My new book 'Control Your Credit Destiny' giving you the tips and tricks of the credit scoring system to maximize your credit score and tools for building wealth. Go to www.johnalittle.com for more.