Can Debt Consolidation Improve Your Credit Score?

The answer to that question is if payments of the loan are made regularly and the borrower adheres to the terms of the loan. The duration is usually a few years so that can show consistency in the repayment, which helps the person’s credit score.

Obviously, the borrower’s credit score can also be hurt if the payments aren’t made consistently. The term of the consolidation loan is usually one or two years and the borrower won’t see fast improvement of his credit score, but it will happen slowly. If the borrower got the loan to pay off credit cards and keeps any of the cards—it will be important to protect the newer improved credit score by keeping the current credit cards payments up to date and charges should be minimized and make full payments.

Another point for the borrower to remember is to handle his current and future financial moves within his budget. Creditors will be watching for a realistic approach as to how the consumer handles his finances. Doing all of these things right will be a good reflection on the consumer’s credit score.

Getting the debt consolidation loan, making payments on time, and adhering to the terms could be in vain, if the consumer doesn’t learn to control spending urges like impulse spending. There was a time when using a debt consolidation company to get out of debt was a negative factor on a consumer’s credit score. That’s because this information was reported to the credit bureau by the creditors and it was not considered a good way to pay off bills. All of that has changed. There are many debt management companies that are reputable today.

Having many credit cards can be detrimental to the consumer’s credit score and that worsens if he is only making the minimum payment on each of them. Of course, being late hurts too. By getting a debt consolidation loan to pay off his credit cards the consumer can get a better interest rate that can help him in the long haul to pay less interest.

If the consumer decides to get loans in the future his best action is to check his credit score ahead of time at all three of the credit reporting agencies. Sometimes there are mistakes on the report that could prevent the consumer from getting a loan. For instance, a paid off credit card may not have been removed. Since he has his credit cleaned up he will be wise to keep it that way and check his credit report periodically to see if everything on it is correct. He can also greatly improve his credit score by keeping his credit cards down to no more than three cards.

This can be a good solution for people with many debts and high interest rates. This method can even keep the consumer from needing to file for bankruptcy. It’s easy to see that if used wisely a debt consolidation loan can improve a person’s credit

Increasing Self-Confidence and Problem Solving

Oddly enough, for many, there is rarely a day that goes by where we procrastinate making a decision because we experience a lack of self-confidence or feelings of self-doubt.

The standards set, while growing up into adulthood, had most of us depending on others - parents, teachers, and relatives - for direction and guidance that set up our self-image and levels of confidence. Unfortunately, during that period of time, we experienced more no's than yes's. As a result we either rebelled or we succumb to the expectations of others - looking to them for approval -- embedding in us expectation levels of perfectionism and shaping our self-image.

As adults, to function in a competitive world, requires that we be less dependent on looking to others for approval. The drive to win approval, through perfection, sets in motion negative procrastination and a stressful existence. When we drop the notion that we must live up to others expectation of being perfect, we then begin to build our inner strength of self-confidence.

When we overcome the lack of self-confidence and feelings of self-doubt, then problem solving and decision making, becomes second nature to us. True self-confidence comes about by understanding our abilities, strengths and having the willingness to change what we choose.

"Change" is a word that runs the gambit of drudging up feelings from anger, bitterness, hopelessness and pain to happiness, relief and pleasure.

However, bringing everything into consideration, you and me and everyone else on this planet is in the problem solving business - and to be effective in delivering problem solving solutions we need, a well developed, self-confidence. Therefore let me say that living in an economy based on innovation -- an economy in which you can win big simply by out thinking the competition -- self-confidence and decision making is paramount to success.

Now, let me give you an exemplary example of someone who embodies such characteristic traits of self-confidence and problem solving.

Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO, FedEx Corporation; describes his creation of a central clearinghouse, along with a hub-and-spoke system of dissemination, enabled FedEx to deliver, point-to-point, anywhere in the United States -- absolutely, positively overnight. Smith said: "We thought that we were selling the transportation of goods; in fact, we were selling peace of mind." - Fred Smith's focus and self-confidence was a force in his innovation and problem solving solutions.

Here are several methods for increasing your self-confidence and problem solving abilities according to Brian M. Alman and Peter Lambrou, Ph.D.'s

** First, identify which area of your life spawns the most self-doubt, the least self-confidence. - Your work, people of the opposite sex, parents, a boss, spouse, etc.

** Second, select which area you want to work on first. Set reasonable objectives and focus on one specific circumstance in which you feel self-doubt.

** Third, go into a state of quiet relaxation to do some inner examination, some self-exploration. Imagine an old situation with someone whose approval you sought, but now imagine a new actions stemming from your perceptions of self-confident behavior.

** Forth, where you had self-doubt, now see yourself with self-confidence giving yourself positive self-suggestion to reinforce the change you want to accomplish.

Don L. Price - Coaching Minds To Succeed - Professional Speaker, Sales/Marketing & High Performance Mental Fitness Coach, Speaker and Author of Secrets of Personal Marketing Power.

Guidelines for Preventing Identity Theft

Preventing identity theft is not a difficult task, as you simply have to put common sense into practice. Whenever you are through with any mail, prescription bottles or any other trash that contains your personal information you should shred what you can and black out info on pieces that cannot be shredded. This keeps those thieves who dig in trash searching for info to be left dirty and empty handed.

You also have to protect your information online. If you are interested in any information online that requires you to provide personal information, never provide your bank account or social security number. There are scam artists who will take your personal information and sell it to those who will use it to make purchases in your name running your credit.

You should also be wary when you use your credit cards or checks when shopping protect the visibility of these numbers as there are scam artists who will photograph your banking information for fraud use.

By following simple guidelines such as these you can ensure your personal information is safe from the eyes and hands of those who are up to no good. You should also be aware of your credit reports and what is on them as you can view for any criminal occurrences and report them if necessary.

Far too many times we believe that this can't happen to us but if you look you will find that your neighbor or even your sibling has had a level of this happen to you.

If you are looking for further information about identity theft, you can find an abundance of information online. By taking the time to provide yourself with knowledge of identity theft than you know how to protect yourself. Prevention is key to not becoming a victim of identity theft.

Breaking Free From Self-Limiting Habits

'We need to think differently to shift our paradigms
to a new, deeper, "inside-out" level'; Stephen R. Covey

In the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey describes habits as "consistent, often unconscious patterns which constantly, daily express our character and produce our effectiveness, or ineffectiveness".

Who we are and what we become is a direct result of our habits. It is in the realm of habits that our character is born, nurtured and outwardly expressed. What we see from the outside is a direct reflection of those deeply embedded habits that have gradually, steadily and consistently ingrained themselves into our psyche. Our behavior is therefore informed by these habits, which with time become so deeply ingrained into our minds that changing them is like attempting to break mountains with bare hands.

Breaking free from these deeply-embedded habits is a tall order, especially if they have been acquired over a long period of time. The longer it takes to acquire certain habits, the more difficult it is to break them. And this is not necessarily a bad thing; especially if the habits acquired are positive. Positive habits should be encouraged, even developed where they are lacking.

According Mike Bressica, success comes from behaviors, which start out as thoughts. To change your habits or behaviors, you will need to have different thoughts. What occupies your mind; your thoughts; propels you to behave in a certain way. If you don't like the results of your behavior, all you need to do is to change your thoughts. The Bible talks of renewing our mind as a way of transforming ourselves into good, acceptable and perfect people that always seek to do the will of God (Rom 12.2).

Renewing or shifting from our current thoughts to those that we desire brings about transformation or change in our lives. This is what is known as having a paradigm shift; adopting a new way of thinking, of doing things, of behavior.

The good thing about habits is that they are acquired over time through learning, nuances, brainwashing and experiences. Since they are acquired, they can be replaced by changing the thought patterns that fostered them in the first place.

To replace negative, self-limiting thought patterns, which Mike Bressica calls "mental patterns of failure", we must set as a first goal to reduce the impact of these patterns. And this cannot be done overnight. Just as it took time to acquire these mental patterns of failure, it will take time to release them and replace them with 'mental patterns of success'.

Paul talking to the Church in Rome expressed his frustration with his inability to rein in his patterns of failure. It appeared to him that he was fighting a losing battle with his mind as he found himself doing the very evil that he did not want to do; and not doing the good that he wanted to (Romans 7: 19).

Like so many of us, Paul was at a crossroad. On one side lay the old self-limiting patterns of failure; and on the other, his desire to release these negative patterns, which always led him to do evil, and replace them with those that would propel him into a transformed life of doing good.

Highly successful people are those who rid themselves of their patterns of failure by brushing off distractions. When you have no pattern of failure limiting your progress, you are able to overcome temporary setbacks at the thought level. Since the battle for success is won or lost at the thought level, your success or failure in this arena is what makes you successful or unsuccessful. Success comes naturally when you learn how to control your thought patterns. As Bressica says, if you muster the art of thought control, you will not be 'tempted to act opposite to what you know is best. You can keep fear at a minimum. Doubt is nowhere to be found.'

But how do you unlearn limiting thought patterns that you have picked up from childhood? How do you break down inscrutable blocks of negative habits that have been distilled and cemented into your psyche since childhood? To merely tell you to change your paradigm would be as vain as telling a hungry person to be filled without giving him food to eat. What we hear, see, experience or sense has a direct bearing on the formation of our habits; which are informed by thoughts, and which are then acted out in the form of behavior.

Thoughts are the foundation on which our habits are formed. These habits, depending on their nature, in turn inform our actions or behavior; and success or lack of it solely depends on the actions we take. To take that crucial first step in starting your own business, you must first of all unlearn the employee mentality and start seeing yourself as a successful entrepreneur.

But to achieve this paradigm shift is no mean fit. What with years of being told to study hard so that, when you grow up, you will get a good job? To break away from this mold of thinking and start seeing or thinking yourself as a successful business person requires much more than positive affirmations such as 'I can do it'. If 'I can do it' is out of tandem with your thought pattern, then, try as much as you will, you can’t do it.