Want a New Year’s Resolution for 2006? I’ll give you the most sensible one ones you’ve ever read:
1. Tear up all of your credit cards but one.
2. Pay off all of your torn-up credit cards, beginning with the highest interest cards first.
3. When you’ve done that, pay off the balance of your remaining credit card but keep it open for those times you need it. Call the lender and reduce the available balance to $5,000 or less, unless you may be making purchases above that limit.
4. If you own real estate, pay it off.
5. If you have student loans or a car loan, pay them off.
6. Make a resolution to reduce your total household debt to one-half or less of what it currently is.
7. Order a copy of your credit report and dispute all inaccurate information on it–not just inaccurate trade-lines but inaccurate name or address or identifying information as well.
8. Don’t get overly obsessed with your credit score. Do the common-sense things to keep yourself creditworthy, but don’t obsess over it. A credit score is like popularity in high school: it fluctuates no matter what you do or don’t do.
Anyway, to my blog readers, I hope you have a wonderful 2006. For your information, I’ll be following my own advice in nos. 1-8 above, and I hope you will as well.