Financial Counseling

Whether you just need advice on how to stay on track, or could use some help to get back on track, your credit union offers free and confidential financial wellness services to help you achieve your goals.

Give us a call at (318) 621-0605 or (318) 629-5622 and set up an appointment today.

INCREASE YOUR BUYING POWER,
INCREASE YOUR CREDIT SCORE!

Frequently checking scores and reports can be crucially important to financial health. Consumers who have a good idea of their credit score understand where they stand should they need to borrow money to fund a major life purchase. A low credit score, for instance, could hinder the purchase of a new house or car.

Consumers who regularly check their credit reports are also more likely to catch identity theft before it becomes a major problem. By regularly checking credit reports, you may be able to catch credit inquiries you don’t recognize – catching a potential fraudulent new account before it’s even opened.

A good credit score is very important in day-to-day life because it helps determine your day-to-day budgeting for expenses such as premium insurance, mortgage or rental premiums, car payments and utilities. It can also prevent the ability of obtaining money or credit for life’s unexpected expenses such as tires, car repairs, medical expenses and rental cars. Basically, having a good credit score opens up a world of opportunity, giving you more favorable buying power.

Tips to Raising Your Credit Score

* Check your reports annually. Everybody is entitled to a free copy of their credit report from all three reporting agencies once every 12 months. To request a copy, visit the authorized website – AnnualCreditReport.com – or call 1-877-322-8228. You will have to provide your address, Social Security number and birth date to receive the reports. Taking advantage of the annual credit report checks allows you to keep an eye out for any account activity you don’t recognize and gives you a barometer on your borrowing habits.

* Be wise about opening and closing accounts. Think about how it might affect your credit score before opening or closing credit accounts. While it positively affects credit scores to have a wide array of accounts – including credit cards, personal loans, home equity lines of credit, etc. – it can be much more harmful to open more lines of credit than you can keep up with. Falling behind on payments can quickly drag down a healthy score.

* Make on-time payments. Payment history, or how reliably you make on-time payments, is the most important factor considered in calculating your credit score. This information indicates to potential lenders how likely you are to pay them back should they choose to lend to you. Consider using automatic bill payments or setting up alerts to avoid missing payments.

* Optimize your credit utilization ratio. Your credit utilization ratio is your debt-to-limit ratio; it measures the amount of the credit card limit you’re using. High credit utilization ratios may cause potential lenders to think you’re overextended and unlikely to make timely payments on future debts.

* Dispute errors. If you see something on your report you don’t recognize, don’t assume it should be there. Contact both the credit reporting company and the organization or company that provided the information (that would be your lender or credit card company). The Federal Trade Commission recommends sending a hand-written letter with copies of all relevant documents via certified mail.

Higher Score = Lower Rates!