Paying off old debts is no longer bad for your credit scores

It used to be that if you had an old debt that was unpaid and then paid it, it would drastically drop your credit score. According to Liz Pulliam Weston this glitch has been corrected. If you settle a debt make sure that the creditor will change the status on your credit report from unpaid collection to a paid collection. Leaving it as an unpaid collection can wreak havoc on your credit score. Believe it or not a paid collection is looked at as a positive mark for your credit score. You don't need to try to get a paid as agreed, most creditors wont want to give you that anyway.

Debt Settlement Negotiation

Buy Now Pay and Pay Later

Credit Card companies are not your friend. They are in business to make money off of you. If you can't pay cash don't use them. Emergencies can be the exception. Buying expensive cars that you have to devote a huge amount of your time to pay back doesn't make much sense. Do you really need it or do you want it? I would rather be debt free and not have to go to bed every night and worry about how I can pay for all of the things that I owe. As a former loan officer I don't know how many people that I met with that could not buy a home because they were driving big expensive cars. It just is not worth it to drive a fancy BMW and not own a home.

It's sad but I remember talking to one couple that made less than $4000 a month and had a truck payment of nearly $1000. This didn't take into account gas and insurance. They couldn't figure out why they were broke every month. I couldn't figure out why they thought they could buy a home when they were barely making it as it was. I drive a 10 year old car with 95000 miles on it. It's paid for and runs. I'm happy. New cars are fun when you drive them off the lot, the first payment letter will cure you of that.

Alternatives to bankruptcy

Get me out of Debt