If you are like me, when I bring in the mail everyday, invariably there are a few credit card offers. I used to just toss them out. Now, I’ve made sure that I don’t get them anymore, and I’ll show you how too. To someone trying to steal your identity it’s like gold. Simply fill it out, change the address and they are on their way to a new credit card, IN YOUR NAME! Don’t let it happen to you, ever again.

Think Green at the very least!
Even if you think you won’t be the candidate for Identity Theft, think of the incredible waste of paper being generated every day by these unused offers for credit. It must amount to tons of paper being thrown away everyday. We owe it to globe to stop this madness, even just one person at a time.

So how do they find me?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives the credit bureaus permission to sell your credit history information to credit lending companies. By default they can sell your information if they so choose. An amendment to this act in 1990 allows for consumers to choose NOT to receive these offers. I feel it should be the other way around….

Stop The Temptation
Probably the reason I currently have 4 credit cards is due to temptation. Offers rolling in with the ability to transfer balances from other cards, lower interest rates, etc. By not reading the fine print, I’ve been burned on this a few times. If
you feel you are susceptible to this, then another great reason to stop offers come in is to stop the temptation of acting upon them.

OK! ENOUGH! How do I do it?
First there is a service run by the four main credit bureaus that will get you off their lists. This step alone should stop all “Pre-Screened” offers from rolling into your mailbox.

This service can be contacted via two different methods:
Website: http://www.optoutprescreen.com
Phone: 1-888-5-OPTOUT

Either method should exact the required results.

Is that all there is to it?
Theoretically that should work with all your prescreened offers. But you will still most likely receive offers and “convenience” checks from any banks or credit cards you currently are associated with. On the back of each of your credit cards will be a customer service number. Call each number and ask to be removed from any additional card offers, convenience checks, phone calls, etc. I found that when I did this, the customer service reps were very helpful in explaining all the services and removing from each one.

Call your bank(s) customer service and ask to be removed from all credit card offers, convenience checks, etc. also. My banks, too, were very helpful in this matter.

What if I still receive offers?
Very likely you are on another list. Each offer that comes will most likely have some fine print that will allow you to call and be removed from that list.

Conclusion
This all seems very tedious and it is. But you will be surprised how that big handful of mail everyday, becomes a small handful. You will be helping the environment, saving yourself from temptation, and reducing your chances of being a victim of identity theft. It’s worth the effort.

Good Luck and start dialing!

With tax season over, a lot of people are focusing on fixing their bad credit. How you got to this point of bad credit is not a mystery. With ever increasing gas prices, rents and groceries, it’s no wonder more and more of us are turning to credit cards just to make ends meet. We don’t really think that $20 in gas or $40 in groceries on credit is going to hurt us. Remember, we promised ourselves to make an immediate payment on that credit card with our next paycheck. Yeah Right!
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Some of the ones you can’t change:

Chapter 13 Bankruptcies will remain on your credit report 7 years.
Chapter 7, 11 or 12 Bankruptcies will remain on your credit report for 10 years.
Judgments - 7 years
Paid Tax Liens - 7 years
Unpaid Tax Liens - 15 years
Foreclosures - 7 years (in rare cases, this could be removed)

If you have an unpaid collection on your report than there are several courses of action that you can take try and have the item removed from your credit file.
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With credit, a “do over” is also possible. Enter the Secured Credit Card. For those of you with bad credit, or perhaps new to credit, the secured credit card is a great place to start building credit.
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