Everything You Need to Know to Repair Your Own Credit!
I am going to teach you how to fix your credit. I am not going to share everything that I know with you about credit scoring models or algorithms but I am going to share the process with you. I am doing this because I want you to know what you are doing when you go about fixing your credit. If you have bad credit and are a DIY type of person this article is for you. I am going to cover everything in this article from A to Z.The first thing that you need to do is review your credit for inconsistencies. A full 79% of credit reports have one error or another. Cases of mistaken or stolen identity, same or similar names reporting on the wrong report, incorrect amounts, duplicate accounts, and many other forms of errors being reported on credit profiles abound. Go over your credit report very carefully looking for inconsistencies such as those listed above.Once you have identified the errors that you want to correct it is time to move on to the next step. You will want to dispute those items with the three major credit bureaus. Write a letter you each of the three credit bureaus explaining to them what you believe the error is and request that they delete the item being reported in error from your credit report. Proper formatting is an important ingredient in order to ensure that your dispute is handled properly. The credit bureaus are going to want to make sure you are who you say you are. For that reason you must always submit your dispute letters with a copy of your driver’s license and a bill with your address on it (such as a utility bill). If you have recently moved they may want to see additional verification so include a pay-stub, social security card, or W2 form.There is no guarantee that disputing an item with bring about a removal of that item from your credit profile. If the item is genuinely being reported in error there is a high likelihood that it will be deleted. Creditors have 30 days to validate an account that has been disputed otherwise it is automatically deleted. If an item is validated but you are certain that it is being reported in error you can challenge the validation. That process begins with first requesting the documentation from the credit bureaus that the creditor used to validate the account. A good example would be if an amount is being reported incorrectly. Such as if you paid off an account but it is still reflecting an amount owed. In that case, obtain dated proof of your release from the debt obligation to compare to the documentation used for validation, which may show that the validation is dated.If you are unable to have an item deleted through the dispute process there is a good chance the collection agency or creditor may be more pliable and willing to negotiate after an item has been disputed, validation challenged, or is currently in dispute. As a last resort you may want to attempt to negotiate a settlement with the creditor; this is only if you are unable to have the item removed through any other means. However, there are a few ground rules here that you need to take into consideration. Again, if you are certain that the item is being reported incorrectly or is not yours all together; do not acknowledge the debt as being yours.The first thing that you should ask for when the creditor answers the phone is for the agent to come back on an unrecorded line. You have the right to speak on an unrecorded line and generally the agent will be happy to oblige. He or she will put you on a brief hold and come back on a line that is not being recorded. Once they are back on the line with you tell them that you are calling about account # (fill in account number). If you do acknowledge ownership of the debt, that could restart the statute of limitations back to 0 days since last date of activity. It is important not to make that acknowledgement in the event that you are unable to reach an agreement. It is not uncommon to get the settlement down to around 40% or 40 cents on the dollar. Collections and profit & loss statements come off on their own seven years from last activity while items discharged in bankruptcy come off in 10 years.Cleaning bad credit from your credit profile is the first step in establishing repairing your credit. The next step is to re-establish credit. Sometimes when you make a lot of changes to your credit profile in a short period of time you may see a dip in your credit score in the first month after. The reason for this is because while you are deleting derogatory items you are also deleting transaction history. This is normal and it will rebound in the subsequent month so long as you have established some new trade-lines (credit account).Those with perfect credit have multiple seasoned trade-lines varying in type. Usually a couple of revolving account, an installment loan or two, and an amortized loan such as a mortgage. The more seasoned a trade-line is the more weighted it will be on your credit report. If you have the option of having a friend or relative add you as an authorized user on a seasoned trade-line that will accelerate the time-frame in which you are able to increase your credit score. However, with a clean slate you should still be able to significantly increase your score over the next couple of months.Open a couple of credit card accounts to start with. You will want to limit your inquiries to no more than 3 in any 6 month period. For that reason it is a good idea, if you have cash on hand, to start out with secured credit cards. Secured cards come with a guaranteed approval and do not require a credit pull so you will be able to limit the inquiries on your account. Another great option is Aarons Sales & Lease; they are the only rent to own company that I am aware of that reports to all 3 major credit bureaus. When establishing new credit try to limit your new credit inquiries as much as possible.After establishing a couple of new credit card accounts make sure that they are open and active. You will want to use the cards to build up some positive transaction history. At the same time you will have to use them carefully to maximize your credit utilization. Never exceed 30 percent of the available balance as that is the sweet spot in where your account is open and active while still maintaining a large percentage of available credit. It’s a good idea to make a small purchase or two once a month and then pay your bill after you receive it in the mail to ensure that it posted and the activity on the account will be reflected on your credit profile.There is a lot more that goes into it than the information that I have provided here. There are specific calculations that we can do based on credit scoring models that allow us estimate scores at particular intervals. Though, in order to remain compliant I never quote time-frames or make guarantees because there are always variables that could disrupt the work that we are doing. The information provided here is more than enough for you to go out and fix your own credit. There is nothing that we can do in that regard that you cannot do yourself. You can take the steps outlined in this article and fix your credit.If you do not have the time to put the work into this process or would rather just leave it to the professionals we are here to help. Northern Finance Group employs highly trained credit repair professionals and we are willing to work with you in every step of the way. Our rates are reasonable for the high level of service that we provide and we can ensure that your credit reach the heights that you are striving for. If you have been turned down for credit and need to get your credit repaired as quickly as possible please give us a call for a free consultation.
Is Buying Business Insurance the New Texas Holdem Poker?
If you’re looking to buy Business Insurance you’ll have a certain level of power over a number of insurance brokers, insurance companies and insurance providers all wanting to do business with you.With this in mind we’ll put you in the position of the dealer in our game of Business Insurance Poker so you can watch the game develop. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin:If you already have Business Insurance we’ll give your existing insurance provider the dealer button as they really have the best seat at the table. They’ve already built some kind of relationship with you and they can sit back and wait to see what the competition does before they decide to act.So next is the small blind. The small blind has an interest in your business as they’ve put in some of their own money in the hope they can win your business. You may have seen an advert for them, they may have sent you a letter or they may have called you to see if you’d like a quote for your Business Insurance.Next is the big blind. The big blind when it comes to Business Insurance could well be an insurance provider you’ve heard of. They’ve spent a sizeable amount of money to get your attention (maybe a television advert or some promotion in the National press) and they aren’t likely to give up without a struggle. So those are the 3 insurance providers who definitely are interested in you and your Business Insurance:- Dealer button – Your existing insurance provider- Small blind – Maybe an insurance broker who would like to help you- Big blind – Perhaps an insurance company who has a large marketing spend and has got your attention.It’s possible that this is only a 3 player game but as is becoming more common with insurance brokers and insurance companies other parties enter the game. These other insurance providers generally fall into 2 categories:1. They are likely to offer something (or have a hand) similar to either your existing insurance provider (who still has the button) or the small or big blind.2. These new insurance providers will offer you something different. They get your attention as they have noticed an element of weakness with the other people at Business Insurance table and are planning on showing you how good they are. So how are they going to do this? Well more often than not they will raise and when it comes to Business Insurance this means they will give you more than the other people at the Business Insurance table.Let’s play the Business Insurance Poker hand to explain in more detail:1. Your existing insurance provider sends you your renewal terms but you decide to look around for alternative insurance quotes as it’s either more expensive than last year or you just want to see what else is available.2. You receive a letter from an insurance broker who seems similar to your existing insurance broker but they save you a little on your insurance premium. It gets your attention but it is enough?3. You are now contacted by a direct insurer. You know their name, you’ve seen their adverts and they knock even more off your renewal price. Sounds great yes? Well maybe but let’s see how the game develops.4. Another player enters the game and makes a bet (or in this case makes you an offer). Their offer is different in that:a. They specialise in the type of business insurance you are actually looking forb. They appear to focus more on you and your business rather than on how good they are and how cheap they can get your premiumc. They quote you a very good premium but in addition to this offer you advice, guidance and tell you that if you do suffer a loss with them they will be there to help you. They don’t have call centres’, they don’t keep you waiting in queues. Instead they employ people who understand your business, understand your needs and are here to help you.So with the bets (or business insurance quotes) all on the table it’s possible you may want to play one off against the others with bluffs, raises (or in this case reductions in premiums) until everyone has played their hand and you have to decide who to look after your insurance for another year.Will you choose?1. Your existing insurance provider – who gave you your renewal premium but only really started to play when under threat from other providers2. Someone who offers you the same thing but saves you a little money3. A company who saves you a little more money but doesn’t really stand out from crowd4. An insurance broker who seems to understand what you need and will do whatever it takes to make sure you are satisfiedInsurance companies and insurance brokers need to pay attention as although insurance is still a very price sensitive business the reality is customers and people buying business insurance want more than a cheap premium.They want cover tailored to their needs, they want an insurance provider who will work for them and with their interests at heart and they want someone to speak to when they need them most.They don’t want to be held waiting in queues or even worse be keep waiting only to be cut off. They also don’t want to speak to someone they don’t understand or who doesn’t understand them.Texas Holdem Poker is a great game but insurance for your business is a serious matter. Make sure you get the cover, service and insurance provider you deserve and don’t muck it up.Is buying Business Insurance the new Texas Holdem Poker was brought to you by Mark Burdett, Marketing Manager of Northern Counties Insurance Brokers. As one of the UK’s Leading Insurance Brokers Northern Counties have been providing Business Insurance to companies since 1928 and specialise in Business Insurance, Motor Trade Insurance, Nursery Insurance and Care Home Insurance.
Why We Need More Skepticism in Environmental and Health News
Skepticism is the act of refusing to believe a claim without proof (unlike climate-change ‘skeptics’, who refuse to believe claims with very credible proof). Environmental news is filled with extremism or conspiracy theories, with people unscientifically predicting the end of world. Health news is similar, with snake oil salesmen and miracle cures being sold by almost every site that claims to provide health news.The biggest problem in environmental news by far the amount of conspiracy theorists, with sites like ENEnews telling of a world-wide cover-up of the Fukushima “disaster” despite the lack of a realistic disaster scenario. The second largest problem is both the Global Warming and Climate Change deniers and extremists. The deniers help to spread the lies that Climate Change or Global Warming isn’t real, using non-arguments like “global cooling” (which never had any following among the scientific community) or that a few degrees in temperature change isn’t really that bad. Extremists are unscientific as well, promoting conspiracy theories that predict the end of the earth, and while I agree pollution and global warming are both awful, and they should be one of our priorities, they aren’t the most important thing.The field of health news is by far worse, with hugely popular sites promoting pseudoscience of the miracle cures of homeopathy, faith healing, or chiropractic medicine. People who go against their manufactured grain in this area are beaten down by the promoters of quackery, mainly because emotions are far easier and faster to use as a source than actual data. These promoters of quackery will call anyone who doesn’t believe in alternative medicine a paid shill, someone who promotes the pharmaceutical industry in their writing, despite big business’ being behind much of alternative medicine as well, especially homeopathy. Another problem in this field is the co-opting of issues like organic food, which is now an awful industry that exists solely to make a profit on people who think they’re actually eating good foods, the local food movement is far better if you want to have a healthy meal. Modern day organic is simply a re-branding done by big-business, with a few changes in how they operate, yet it is still the same corporations doing all the farming.There are a few sources of skeptical information, mainly sites run by people who are already far too busy to debate with every person with an illogical point of view. The skeptics are by far less numerous than the promoters of quackery or “woo”, which is why we need more sources of skepticism.
What are anti-ligature blinds?
Anti-ligature blinds are becoming increasingly popular in a range of different settings. The way these blinds differ from traditional blinds is that they are designed to prevent suicide by hanging.
Initially, uptake for this type of blind was largely restricted to high-risk environments such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons, where suicide is common. In mental health environments and detention centres, suicide via hanging is common and preventative measures must be implemented. A huge range of objects could be used to create a ligature point, meaning anti-ligature systems are highly important.
Over the years, anti-ligature blinds have been supplied to hospitals, schools, student accommodation and even hotels.
How do they work?
There are a range of different systems on the market, but the most reliable could well be the magnetic anti-ligature system. YewdaleKestrel® products utilise load release magnets which separate when a downward force is exerted on the product. This means that the product falls to the ground safely and prevents suicide via hanging.
The magnetic systems used in Yewdale’s products are highly reliable because magnets don’t lose their strength for hundreds of years, guaranteeing a lifetime of lifesaving functionality.
Anti-ligature blinds usually have a magnetic connection point above the blind’s barrel. The blind is easy to reconnect to the magnetic bracket after it has fallen to the floor.
If you are considering an anti-ligature blind, Yewdale is a highly recommended company. Based in the UK, Yewdale produce a wide range of anti-ligature products, commercial blinds, and healthcare products including hospital cubicle tracks and medical curtains.
Yewdale produce other anti-ligature products too including a soft, lightweight en-suite door and other accessories such as soap dispensers, toilet roll holder, shelves and artwork. You can see the full range on the website using the link below.
Complete weight loss strategy
For those who want to lose weight
Research on the causes of obesity, knowledge about weight loss, and various diets for weight loss are updated every year. However, with the update of knowledge and the release of diet pills one after another, the obesity rate continues to rise every year, and there is no sign of wanting to decline. I used to be very, very fat, and I am also a person who is prone to obesity.
So I understand the voices of fat people, I really want to lose weight, but I tried many ways to lose weight at that time without success.
I have tried the common boiled meals on the market, eating less and moving more, but it was not until I tried other diets that I managed to lose weight. After I lost weight, I began to study the essence and method of losing weight, and wrote him in this weight loss strategy article, hoping to help you.
A few key myths about losing weight
The weight loss myth of eating less and moving more
The phrase “eat less and move more” is actually true, but most people do it wrong. Many people think that they should eat less of everything, so they limit their calories to a very low level, and it feels a bit like eating an ultra-low-calorie fairy meal. Then, for the hyperactive part, the first thing that everyone thinks of is aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, etc., but in fact, this is a very short-term and easy way to regain weight, mainly because eating too little is an easy way to lose weight. The reason for the loss of muscle mass, coupled with the fact that aerobic training is not helpful for muscle mass growth, causes the metabolism to drop too much.
Maybe you can lose 5 kilograms in this way, but if your metabolism declines, you will easily regain the weight. And it’s all the fat that gets back up, not the muscle you lose that makes you look fatter than before. This is what we call the yo-yo effect, lose weight, get fat back, get fatter than before, lose weight, get back on Fat, get fatter than before.
Stop taking diet pills and meal replacements
At this time, you may start to seek other ways, eat weight loss meal replacements, taking diet pills, and so on. But believe me, most diet pills will inevitably hurt the body, especially the gastrointestinal tract. You may actually lose weight in the moment, but when your gastrointestinal tract is damaged, you will be fatter than before.
The key to understanding how to lose weight
You must have thought, why some people will not gain weight no matter what they eat, while some people will gain a kilogram the next day after eating a little bread? What is the cause of obesity? This is not a simple answer that can be solved!
You can see the link to the picture below, mainly talking about the influencing factors of obesity, which are very, very complicated.
Image source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296290/obesity-map-full-hi-res.pdf
In the middle of this picture is the heat balance
So we can know that calorie balance is very important
But this article doesn’t keep preaching that calorie balance is the key to losing weight like other sites
If you don’t know what calorie balance is, you can probably imagine that our body has calorie consumption (exercise, thermogenesis, basal metabolism), and calorie intake (eating).
When calorie consumption exceeds calorie intake, the weight will drop, so the truth of weight loss is to eat less and move more, very simple. In the short term, it is really possible to simply achieve weight loss by eating less and moving more, but simplicity is not simple, because the operation of the body is very complicated. Many people think that they can control their calorie consumption, that they can achieve a lot of calorie expenditure by running all the time, and that eating fairy meals (low-calorie meals) can reduce calorie intake and then easily lose it.
However, according to research, 90% of people who use calorie control, eat less and move more to lose weight will fail or regain the weight.
Because eating less and moving more for too long, metabolism will easily drop, hormones will easily become imbalanced, and muscle mass will easily be lost. Even if you lose 10 kilograms, you will easily regain weight.
When losing weight, the body is like a factory
For me, the key to long-term weight loss and maintaining good posture is the environment in the body, such as hormones, the level of inflammation in the body, and the gastrointestinal system.
Think of the body as a factory
-Your hormones are the managers and workers of factory operations
-Inflamed condition is how good factory machinery and hardware are
-Calorie intake is wages for factories as well as fuel
If the manager of this factory is an idiot, or if the hardware in your factory is completely rotten, then no matter how it works, it will create a pile of waste. Just as our hormones are already out of balance and the level of inflammation in the body is very high, no matter how much you eat, if you don’t solve the existing problems, it will easily accumulate into fat. It may be easier to understand with a few examples.
Hormones vs Weight Loss
This study looked at the effects of sleep and weight loss
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20921542
Both groups of humans were calorie-restricted, but one group slept 5.5 hours a night and the other 8.5 hours. Both groups lost weight, but the group that slept less lost 55 percent less body fat and 65 percent more muscle mass than the group that slept more. It is equivalent to losing weight, but most of the loss is muscle mass, which reduces metabolism and makes it easy to regain weight later.
There is such a big difference mainly because poor sleep has a negative impact. The imbalance of the secretion of these things will easily increase fat and reduce muscle.
This next study looks at the effect of insulin sensitivity on body composition!
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19471290
Basically, many chronic metabolic diseases, obesity, and poor muscle-building effects are closely related to low insulin sensitivity. Insulin is an anti-catabolic hormone whose main function is to store nutrients in cells. For example, after heavy training, our muscles will be more sensitive to insulin, and the nutrients we eat will be more easily absorbed into the muscles. When insulin sensitivity is low, the nutrients we eat are more likely to be stored as fat rather than absorbed into muscles.
We can simply say that the nutrients in the food eaten by people who are insulin insensitive are more likely to be stored as fat, and the relative fat mass will be much higher than the muscle mass.
To put it simply, the key to losing weight is actually to improve hormones, improve inflammation in the body, and add an appropriate calorie deficit. It is not difficult to achieve a calorie deficit. What is more difficult is how to choose the type of food that suits your body to improve hormones and achieve a long-term good body.
If you only pursue short-term weight loss and rely on a lot of calorie deficits to achieve the effect of weight loss, and then the hormones are still the same after the loss, then I can guarantee that you will gain weight very easily.
With so many ways to eat on the internet, which diet should I try?
When talking about losing weight in Taiwan 30 years ago, everyone would definitely want to use boiled meals
When it came to losing weight five years ago, everyone might think of using a low-sugar diet. When it came to losing weight in the past two or three years, everyone might directly think of the ketogenic diet.
I lost 30kg in 3 months on a low-sugar diet myself for the first time, so I used to believe that a low-sugar diet was the best way to lose weight
But after my long-term understanding of weight loss-related research, genetic cognition, and observation of students, there is no diet that is most suitable for everyone! Although it is said that high-carbohydrate foods will most stimulate insulin secretion, which in turn promotes the storage of nutrients into fat, some people are naturally good at metabolizing carbohydrates, so they can still be healthy and strong after eating high-carbohydrate throughout their lives.
For example, this study compared the responses of people with high and low insulin sensitivity to high- and low-carb diets.
Research source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2005.79
The study concluded:
-For people with high insulin sensitivity, eating high-carb and low-fat to lose weight is very helpful
-However, people who are insulin insensitive use a high-carb low-fat diet to lose fat, but the weight loss effect is not so good.
But on the contrary, studies have also shown that people with low insulin sensitivity have a very good weight loss effect on a low-carb high-fat diet, which shows that improving insulin is very important for weight loss, and it also shows that people with insulin insensitivity are more suitable
Lose weight with a high-carb diet.
So if you have been obese for a long time, you know that you eat carbohydrates easily, or you know that you have diabetes in your family and want to lose fat, then I would suggest that you can start by reducing carbohydrates, which is what we call low carb diet!
The Negative Impact of E-Levy on Mobile Banking.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Mobile Banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.
Electronic Transaction Levy or “E-Levy” is a tax applied on transactions made on electronic or digital platforms.
ADVANTAGES OF MOBILE BANKING
Mobile banking offers numerous benefits such as ease of transaction, convenience, time-saving, managing your finances, and budgeting. Some advantages of Mobile Banking in remote areas include:
Financial Inclusion — mobile banking offers convenient and easy banking services to people in remote areas. Thus, it allows banking on the go and offers all benefits of a banking system to rural areas without the presence of a financial institution.
Accessing the bank 24/7 — Mobile banking provides ubiquitous banking services without the need to visit the bank to have access to services. This offers time to benefit and ease of transacting at a distance.
Cost-benefit — Mobile banking saves the banks the cost of building physical infrastructures (branches) and maintaining branches and staff. Also, reduced costs on the customer side since the burden of visiting the bank for services is eliminated.
Improving resilience in the face of poverty — Mobile money acts as both a savings vehicle and a means of transferring funds during times of economic or environmental shocks.
Strengthening the formal economy — For many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), opening a mobile money account can facilitate access to formal financial services. Mobile money is well placed to address the issue of informality that blights many developing economies and hampers domestic resource mobilization efforts. Mobile Money enables ease of transacting, thus increasing business profits for MSMEs.
Facilitating economic growth — Mobile money has been shown to contribute to economic growth by increasing both productivity and per capita incomes
DISADVANTAGES OF E-LEVY ON MOBILE BANKING
The design of mobile money taxation policy appears to be the antithesis of a well-designed tax system. The disadvantages include:
Inequity — Mobile money taxes as currently structured to create inequity in the tax system. As the tax is mostly borne by the poor and users of the services are subject to additional taxation (unlike bank or cash transactions), the principles of both horizontal and vertical equity in the tax system are contravened.
Uncertainty -. Uncertainty and lack of transparency over taxation systems can have a direct impact on the operations of the tax authority, increasing enforcement costs, as well as discouraging investment.
Inconvenience — The administration of mobile money transaction taxes creates an inconvenience for MMPs who must calculate and collect the tax on the revenue authority’s behalf. There is an additional inconvenience for users of the service for whom remote digital transactions become more expensive or out of reach if they revert back to cash.
Inefficiency — Badly designed mobile money taxes have been shown to have a distortionary impact on demand for mobile money services. This in turn has had negative impacts on overall tax takes, as well as impacting the attainment of national economic and development goals.
EFFECT OF MOBILE BANKING — CASE STUDIES
The decision to impose taxes on mobile bank transactions will trigger so many problems.
Ghana — According to The Fourth Estate Ghana; Although the government projects a 24% decline in transactions when the levy is finally implemented, preliminary findings published by the bank of Ghana indicate the value of mobile money transactions had dropped by 3.2 billion in December 2021, less than 2 months after the proposal to introduce E-levy.
Uganda — An e-levy of 1% introduced in 2018 has led to an overall drop in the person-to-person transaction by more than 50%, and a 24% drop in industry transactions within the same year the tax was introduced according to a report by Global system for mobile communication (GSMA).
Congo — An e-levy of 1% was introduced in 2019. The government had to reverse the tax on cash outs only due to negative results of the levy on Mobile money users such as a decline in mobile money agents (unemployment) and high-value withdrawals by people.
Other countries include Benin (5%) and Cameroun (0.2%). In all these countries, the e-levy has imposed a negative effect on the economy and people. If we want to ensure the financial inclusion of people in rural areas, we need to ensure that we encourage mobile banking by withdrawing the e-levy tax.
Reference:
https://thefourthestategh.com/2022/03/16/e-levy-this-is-what-happened-when-other-african-countries-passed-it/
Purohit, S., & Arora, R. (2021). The benefits and challenges of mobile banking at the Bottom of the pyramid. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government Vol, 27(1).
Charles G. Kpan, Jr. is an Information Technologist with over 5 years of experience in the provision of Information Technology Services and an emphasis on Web Development and Visual Branding. He’s the managing Director of CYGEC IT SOLUTIONS INC. and holds a bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Blue Crest University, Liberia.