Bad Credit Worse than Terrorism?

Imagine my surprise this morning as I was surfing the net while eating breakfast and saw a link that said 'Bad credit tops terror as risk to economy'!! I had to read the article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427753/) and read that a recent survey by the National Association of Business Economics indicated that 32% of their surveyed members cited payment defaults and excessive debt as their biggest near term concern. Terrorism only registered on 20% of the responses.

Think about that for a minute, the current credit crunch in America is a bigger economic threat than terrorism. We all remember 9/11 and almost as vividly we remember the economic crisis the 18 months that followed. Hundreds of companies closed their doors, thousands of jobs were lost, the travel agent industry was nearly irreparably crippled. Now look at what's happening in the mortgage & banking industries today. 137 lenders have closed their doors since the beginning of the year leaving many without jobs and others with loans left in the lurch. Banks have announced impending massive layoffs in the next 18 months.

Here's the good news. You can do your part to help turn the tide. You have ultimate control of your credit, nobody else. You can't control what some individual or group will do to wreak havoc here or abroad, but you have 100% control over what your credit and finances look like. Take the time to review your credit report, understand what it means, correct errors, take the necessary steps to improve the areas that need improvement.

If you want to do all of those things but need a place to start, go to my website http://www.johnalittle.com/ and order one of the Control Your Credit Destiny products. The book, the e-book, the Personal Finance Kit, the Credit Repair Kit or one of the packages with one on one coaching sessions..

Week of August 13th

If you have electricity then you've undoubtedly heard, read or seen the stories about the financial crisis the mortgage industry is in. Major lenders from coast to coast are going bankrupt. Lenders are closing their doors more often than closing loans it seems! The impetus of the crunch is the non performance of the Sub Prime loan market. Let me tell you a secret, now is the best time to purchase a house.

Now, more than even 6 weeks ago, being a strong credit individual is a HUGE key to being able to thrive in today's marketplace. Why do you ask? Because it's a buyers market. Inventory is at near record highs, houses are sitting longer, sellers are anxious about whether or not they will be able to sell and are giving away cars, trips and other incentives to buy their homes. Meanwhile, foreclosures are soaring, further flooding the market with available houses.

Here's the rub, because the sub prime loans are the cause of the mortgage industry implosion, these loans are going away and going away quickly! Before long you're going to need a 640 credit score to be able to get a mortgage without putting 10%-20% down. It's imperative that you make wise credit decisions to ensure you don't get caught up in the crunch when you want to make the decision to purchase real estate.

Tips on how to establish and maintain a positive credit score are in my e-book, 'Control Your Credit Destiny' which will be available at the end of the month on my website http://www.johnalittle.com/. Check it out for more valuable tips for home ownership, credit and personal finance.