Dear Olga,
I have a really bad credit record. Long story. Someone has offered me a way of clearing out my record, so that I can get credit again. It sounds like a really affordable option for me. What would you advise?
Thank you,
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
When money hardships impact your credit score it can be stressful and all you want is to get over this hurdle.
Before you sign up for an "affordable" credit repair service check your current credit score. My favorite tool to recommend for this is Credit Karma. Many people I speak with think their credit score is less than what it really is.
Now, if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. While doing research for your answer, I found an overwhelming amount of ways that scammers have offered to "clear" your credit score. One scam includes setting up an entirely new identity!
An article on credit repair scams from the balance, I urge to check it out before committing to any company. It lists points, I was never aware of that can help you identify a scam.
Before you commit to any service make sure to look up the company with the Better Business Bureau.
Most importantly, think about what you'll learn about your money habits before you go through with this. It's easy to take out a personal loan and pay off your credit card debt. But if you don't change your actual money habits, chances are you'll rack up more credit card debt and end up with credit card debt and personal debt.
It may sound daunting now, but if you work on your money habits, you're long-term progress will be much greater. In April, I had another credit score question submitted. If you're interested in trying to take a stab at your credit repair yourself here is the link to the article here.
I hope you found this helpful!
If you're interested in reading more about improving your credit score and money habits, I just released an ebook that may help you. It's called Shmoney Guide: Making Money Choices Doesn't Need to Be So Scary which covers the basics of a budget from beginning to end.
If you need more guidance, I'm happy to hop on a quick call with you. Here's a link to my calendar!