Welcome back, priceless peeps! Get ready to learn and be inspired with our new blog! From info about credit scores to investments on the rise, we have a little bit of everything! Read on to get the scoop!
🤫 Let’s fill you in on the secret
Your credit score is a powerful indicator of your financial health. It’s like a report card that predicts how likely you are to pay back loans and bills on time, and it can have an effect on everything from getting approved for a car loan to renting an apartment. But not all credit scores are created equal: some companies use different algorithms and scoring models than others, so it’s important to know what makes up your score (and whether or not there’s anything you can do about it). In this post, we’ll take an in-depth look at how credit scores work and what steps people can take if their scores aren’t as good as they might like them to be—plus, we’ll share some expert tips for improving your own!
Check your credit report
You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year. You can also order a free copy of your report directly from AnnualCreditReport.com:
- Make sure that all the information in your report is accurate, especially if you have paid off old debts or filed for bankruptcy. If there are any inaccuracies, contact the credit bureau and ask them to fix it.
- If you have been late paying bills or are carrying high balances on several cards, consider contacting a financial counselor or debt management program to help pay down those balances and get back on track with your finances.
Pay your bills on time
Pay your bills on time. If you pay your bills late, it can lower your credit score by 15 points.
To avoid this, make sure to pay all of the money you owe before the due date. If a payment falls due and goes unpaid, it may appear as if you’ve defaulted on that account in the eyes of lenders. This will hurt your score even further than owing it late in itself would have done.
Don’t forget about paying early! Whether for security reasons or because it’s convenient for them (and perhaps more profitable), many financial institutions offer rewards programs based on timely payments—so don’t cancel out those benefits by paying late!
Set up automatic bill payments
Setting up automatic payments to your credit cards, bills, and other expenses is a good way to keep track of your money and reduce the risk of late fees. If you have an online account with your bank or credit card company, it’s easy to set up automatic payments for any monthly charge that appears on your statement.
If you’re paying off a mortgage or car loan, having the payment withdrawn from your bank account automatically is usually required by the lender. If you have student loans that require monthly payments, call the number on the back of each one and let them know how much money you want to be taken out each month so they can set it up for you (that part may take longer).
You’ll also want to set up automatic payment plans for utility bills: electricity; gas; water; cable television/internet service providers (if applicable); phone/landline service providers (if applicable). Additionally, insurance premiums should be paid through automatic deduction as well: car insurance premiums are often deducted from people’s checking accounts every month; homeowners’ insurance premiums are generally taken out on property taxes every year—but some companies allow customers more flexibility in choosing when their premium debits are made.
Cell phone companies usually offer similar options: many will have a monthly fee that automatically gets debited from consumers’ checking accounts when their bill arrives every month
Lower your credit utilization rate
One of the biggest factors that determine your credit score is how much debt you have compared to how much credit you have available to use. This is called your “credit utilization rate,” and it’s calculated on a scale from 0-100%.
If you have a credit card with a $10,000 limit and you only owe $5,000 in debt, your utilization rate would be 50% ($5k/$10k). If your limit was $25k and you owed $20k on the card, then your utilization rate would be 80%.
So if we want to improve our scores by paying down some debt while continuing to use our cards responsibly as normal, we need to lower these numbers.
Become an authorized user on someone else’s card (if you can trust them)
Becoming an authorized user on someone else’s credit card can be a good way to build your credit score, but it’s not always a good idea. If you don’t know the person well enough to trust them with your money, then you should probably consider other options that won’t cost you as much money or risk.
If you do decide to be an authorized user on someone else’s card though, make sure they know how important it is for them to pay off their bill every month and keep their balances low. This will help ensure that their good payment history stays on your credit report and benefits both of you!
Also, remember that just having one person add you as an authorized user isn’t enough; usually multiple users (like family members) will each contribute to the account so there are more people involved in paying off debts together which means fewer late payments happening around town at any given time.”
Get a secured loan or credit card
If you have a bad credit score and need to start rebuilding your credit history, getting a secured loan or a secured credit card is a good way to begin. Secured loans are loans that are backed by collateral (like your home), while secured credit cards require no collateral as long as your deposit is enough to cover the balance of the card. This means that if you default on your payments, lenders can take back whatever they gave you as collateral—but it also means that they’ll have less incentive to lend money in the first place if they know that there’s not much risk involved. Get started with one of these tools today!
Dispute errors on your credit report
If you spot errors on your credit report that are negatively affecting your score, dispute them with the bureaus. This can be done online or by calling credit reporting agencies and following their instructions for filing a dispute.
Here’s what happens if an error isn’t removed from your credit report within 30 days:
- You may have to hire an attorney (or lawyer) and sue the bureau in court to get it removed.
- The creditor who reported the error may refuse to remove it, even if they know there’s a problem with it—in which case, you’ll need to go through this entire process again.
You can’t just fix a bad credit score overnight, but there are lots of small things that can help.
Your credit score is based on a lot of different factors, including your payment history and the amount you owe. You can’t just fix a bad credit score overnight, but there are things you can do to help build up your good credit.
Here are some ways to improve your credit score:
- Pay off debt and stay current with any payments
- Apply for new credit sparingly (and only when needed)
- Keep the same line of credit open for many years
Conclusion
It’s never too late to start improving your credit score. As we covered earlier, you can work on small steps like paying your bills on time and setting up automatic payments. But there are also some big things you can do, like paying off large amounts of debt or getting a secured card with a low limit (and using it responsibly). If you have good credit now but want to raise it even higher in order for some reason (like applying for a mortgage), then try talking to someone at your bank about what options they offer and how quickly they could help get you where you need to go.
📰 In the news:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is rising, and that’s great news for investors. S&P 500 is also going up, thanks to a number of factors. One of those factors has been medical stocks, which are rising as well because of advances in medical research and technology. Not only that but the coronavirus pandemic has helped put more money into research for new vaccines, and advancements in treatment methods are expected to continue even after the pandemic ends.
Medical stocks are rising because of medical advances.
The value of medical stocks is rising because scientific advances are allowing people to live longer, healthier lives. This is happening because of medical advances that are making it possible for people to live better and healthier lives.
It’s no secret that life expectancy has been increasing with each generation, but many people aren’t aware of how much they’re living longer than their parent’s generation did. In fact, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 1900—when our nation was coming into its own as an economic powerhouse—Americans were expected to live approximately 47 years (not including infant mortality). In 1940, life expectancy reached 55 years; in 1980, it peaked at 76 years; today, it stands at 78 years old if you’re a female and 80 if you’re a male!
You’re going to be living longer, and that’s why medical stocks are going up.
The average life expectancy of a human has increased from 37 years in 1900 to over 80 years today, and that number continues to grow. Not only are people living longer, but they’re also living healthier lives: improvements in medical technology have resulted in fewer deaths due to complications related to heart disease and cancer.
This trend is expected to continue as medical advances continue, meaning more people will be using medical services throughout their lifetimes—which means more money for investors who own stocks in the companies that provide these services!
That means medical stocks can be a safe investment for your money.
There are many reasons why you should consider putting your money into medical stocks. Not only are they a safe investment, but they can also be profitable.
In addition to being a safe investment, medical stocks have been known to provide investors with good returns on their investments. Over the past five years, for example, one of the best-performing medical companies has been Merck (MRK) which grew its stock price by over 250%. Other notable performers include Eli Lilly & Co., Amgen Inc., Abbott Laboratories, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, which all saw more than 100% gains during this period.[4]
You do need to do some research into any companies you’re investing in, though.
With all of that said, there’s one thing you need to do before investing in any company: research. It would be best if you did as much research as possible on the companies and products you’re interested in. Read their financials, get to know their management team, research the competition they face, look at historical market trends, too (and try to determine if they’re going up or down). And of course—if it hasn’t been done already—research their stock price history!
You should also keep an eye on company acquisitions and development activities.
If a company is acquiring another company, it may mean they are looking to expand its product offerings or market share in a certain area. If a company has just filed an initial patent application, this can indicate that they have discovered something new and innovative that they want to protect through legal means.
Suppose you see news about these kinds of things happening. In that case, it’s probably worth doing some research into the company involved so you can understand what kind of impact this is likely to have on their business, as well as whether there could be opportunities for profit-taking in your portfolio if you decide to buy into the stock at current prices (or sell if you already own shares).
The Dow Jones is rising thanks in part to medical stocks.
The Dow Jones is rising, not because of the economy. A stock market index tracking the performance of 30 large companies has been on an upward trend since the end of 2017.
The reason? Medical stocks are doing well because they’re benefiting from medical advances and new treatments that can help people live longer without disease or disability.
That means you’ll be able to keep your money in a safe investment as long as you don’t need it right away (or if you do, there are other options out there).
The NASDAQ Composite Index is also rising on news of new medical advances.
The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of 7,000+ stocks that trade on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The index is a measure of the performance of all NASDAQ-listed stocks. This means it’s not just one company, but thousands of companies (including their subsidiaries) across all industries that you can track by looking at this index.
You invest in an index to get broad exposure to an entire industry without having to pick individual stocks. Suppose you want drug companies or medical device makers, for example. In that case, you can invest in the healthcare sector or, even more specifically, buy an ETF that tracks biotechnology companies like [Symbol].
It’s easy to make a solid investment with this many options available right now.
The world is full of red-hot investments, but many investors hesitate to jump on board. For example, some people would rather avoid the stock market because they fear that their savings could be hampered by market volatility or fluctuations in the value of their investments. But this is fine if you invest wisely and choose medical stocks as your investment vehicle.
Medical stocks are safe bets for your portfolio because they don’t experience significant dips like other sectors during recessions or bear markets. This makes them a solid choice for long-term growth, profit potential, and short-term gains from day trading activities with brokerage accounts.
It’s also easy for investors who don’t have much knowledge about investing in general — whether it’s their first time making an investment or if they’ve been doing so for years — since all they need to do is pick a stock and purchase shares using their brokerage account (such as Fidelity Investments).
Medical stocks are solid investments right now, thanks to both the coronavirus pandemic and general increases in our standard of health care, which is expected to continue after the pandemic is over.
Medical stocks have historically been good investments. While a number of them were hit hard during the global recession, they’ve since recovered nicely—and should continue doing so as healthcare spending increases at an average rate of 5% per year through at least 2020. The increased demand for medical services means that more facilities will need to be built and staffed with doctors and nurses before they can open in major cities worldwide. The expansion of insurance coverage under Obamacare also means that more people will have access to health care than ever before. While there’s always a risk when investing in any industry (especially one based on life), there’s no denying that investing in medical stocks offers both short-term gains as well as long-term stability.
Conclusion
Medical stocks have seen a recent surge in value, and that’s good news for investors. The bad news is that there will always be risks when investing in this kind of company. But if you do your research and stay up-to-date on what’s going on with the industry, then it should be easy to avoid any losses while enjoying gains from investments like these.
