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The Motley Fool March 11, 2004 Dayana Yochim	Lenders Sharing Secrets Word is getting around, and banks are comparing notes about your credit.
The Motley Fool January 12, 2004 Dayana Yochim	APR Attack! A reader asks if it's legal for her lender to raise her interest rate because of unrelated activity on her credit report.
The Motley Fool January 26, 2005 Dayana Yochim	All Eyes Are on Your APR The banking industry's new best friend is the universal default clause. That's a legalese way of saying that a bank has the right to raise a customer's interest rate if that customer fouls up with another company.
The Motley Fool January 12, 2005 Dayana Yochim	How To Cheat on Your Lender Having credit card commitment issues? Go ahead, play the field. But also consider the affect new credit (and canceling old cards) will have on your overall credit score.
The Motley Fool April 21, 2007 Elizabeth Brokamp	The Scoop on Store Credit Cards Beware any promise to lend you money for free.
The Motley Fool May 18, 2004 Dayana Yochim	How Lenders Keep Score Sure, declaring bankruptcy and entering the witness protection program can have an adverse effect on your credit score. But even little things can have a big impact on how lenders look at you. Here are five major areas upon which you're being judged.
The Motley Fool December 15, 2003 Dayana Yochim	It Pays to Cheat Lenders use the lure of single-digit interest rates as a tool to get you to sign up for their credit cards. Used correctly, these deals can help you get out of debt.
The Motley Fool August 11, 2004 Dayana Yochim	I'm in Credit La La Land For a grown-up measure of your money-handling skills, look no further than the ubiquitous credit report. More than ever, what this report says matters to even the most conscientious consumer.
The Motley Fool March 2, 2005 Dayana Yochim	White Lies That Boost Your Credit Score Just smile and nod: Not every inaccuracy negatively affects your credit score.
The Motley Fool January 16, 2008 Selena Maranjian	Screw Up and Suffer Holiday credit card charges can really cost you. Via "universal default," credit card issuers could raise your interest rate to 25% or more if you're late paying bills to other parties -- even library fines, in some cases.
The Motley Fool March 15, 2007 Selena Maranjian	Time for Universal Default to Default? Potential reforms could make this interest-hiking practice a thing of the past.
The Motley Fool October 22, 2004 Dayana Yochim	Six Tips for a Clean Credit Record Don't bother with the small stuff. Here's what really matters to your lender.
The Motley Fool March 24, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Don't Fall for a Lothario Lender Being wooed by some good looking credit offers? Don't get all starry-eyed too fast. What should you look for in a money match made in heaven? Here are some tips.
The Motley Fool March 1, 2006 Dayana Yochim	Lothario Lenders on the Prowl Perform a strict background check before you fall for a sweet-talking credit card deal.
The Motley Fool August 24, 2004 Dayana Yochim	Your Dumbed-Down Credit Score Want to see your real FICO score? Get a job at a bank. FICO (and other credit scoring companies) offers different risk models to banks, insurers, and even landlords than it does to the general populace.
The Motley Fool October 20, 2005 Dayana Yochim	The Real Impact of Late Payments It turns out that lenders may not be keeping such close tabs after all. As it turns out, the method that lenders use to calculate the impact of late payments is less like a strict scorecard and more like the honor system.
The Motley Fool June 13, 2006 Selena Maranjian	Universal Default Can Whack You It's the cold shower of the credit card world. It means that one mistake with one creditor can result in significant rate hikes from lots of your other creditors.
The Motley Fool March 17, 2006 Dayana Yochim	On High Credit Alert Fear of ID theft isn't the only reason to check your credit report. You want to make sure that what's on your permanent record is an accurate reflection of the true you.
The Motley Fool November 1, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Six Tips for a Clean Credit Record If you want to improve your score, concentrate on what matters most to lenders. Here's what to look for.
The Motley Fool June 24, 2009 Dayana Yochim	5 Ways to Keep Your Credit Looking Spiffy Everything you need to know to guard your credit reputation.
The Motley Fool May 27, 2005 Selena Maranjian	New Ways to Qualify for a Mortgage If you're in the market for a new home and you have less than glowing credit, look into these possibilities.
The Motley Fool February 18, 2004 Dayana Yochim	Lenders Looking for Commitment Credit card courting is getting conservative. Should you settle down? Courting fresh customers has become too costly. Cardweb.com says that issuers spend anywhere from $80 to $200 to land a single new account.
The Motley Fool January 3, 2006 Dayana Yochim	Credit Score Need a Boost? Getting more credit isn't the best way to improve your score. In the end, the key to improved credit isn't sexy. The passage of time and the responsible use of credit during those years are your best bets for building your score.
The Motley Fool March 22, 2004 Dayana Yochim	America Scores! March Madness extends to credit scoring. How does your state rank?
The Motley Fool October 16, 2007 Dayana Yochim	Lenders Sharpen Their Fangs According to Consumer Reports, credit card companies have snatched up a 150% penalty fee income increase since 1998. In fact, Americans spend more on late fees than we do on milk and eggs every year. Where are these killer fees lurking in your card?
AskMen.com Michael E. Morgan	Fixing Your Credit Rating The first and most important step of taking control is understanding your credit and not allowing all the myths behind the infamous FICO score to keep you from taking correct steps to a perfect 800+ score.
The Motley Fool February 14, 2007 Mary Dalrymple	Fix Your Credit, Reap the Profits Improving your credit score can be great for your wallet. Once you know how lenders weigh your behavior, you can take the right steps to improve your image.
The Motley Fool April 11, 2005 Dayana Yochim	The Score Is Falling! The Score Is Falling! The author reveals the credit reporting world's secret formula and looks at all the ways your money management can monkey with your credit score.
The Motley Fool May 26, 2004 Nathan Slaughter	Credit Card Fees on the Rise New consumer report details skyrocketing credit card fees.
The Motley Fool August 2, 2005 Dayana Yochim	The Devil (and Dollars) in the Details Americans spend billions each year on avoidable money mishaps. Although penalty fees and the number of triggers that activate them have been steadily on the rise, banks aren't entirely to blame for the inconveniences they cause.
The Motley Fool March 14, 2005 Dayana Yochim	"They" Don't Have All the Answers Answers to reader credit questions on industry rumors, APRs, and a newlywed's credit.
The Motley Fool March 6, 2008 Selena Maranjian	Electing Credit Card Improvements Several Presidential candidates are proposing reforms.
The Motley Fool February 14, 2007 Mary Dalrymple	Know Your Score Find out what lenders really think of you. Your credit score is the result of a statistical computation meant to tell lenders whether it's likely that you'll default on a loan.
The Motley Fool October 13, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Why America's Really in Debt A new study says shopaholism isn't to blame for the average American's debt woes. A new study reveals credit card companies aren't just encouraging card-shuffling when they send out 5 billion solicitations annually. They're cheering on consumers to take on more credit than they can handle.
The Motley Fool June 3, 2005 Dayana Yochim	The Trouble With Nearsighted Lenders You credit score could be suffering because your lender has no vision.
Finance & Development June 2011	Geriatric Deadbeats As the number of older voters relative to younger ones increases around the globe, the creditworthiness of borrowing countries could decline -- resulting in less external lending and more sovereign debt defaults.
The Motley Fool December 29, 2004 Dayana Yochim	What's Your Credit Karma? Know your credit score -- it's important and it affects your life.
The Motley Fool December 6, 2005 Dayana Yochim	FICO Babble The money shrink is in to help you make sense of your credit score. Together we're going to tackle your deepest FICO fears head-on.
The Motley Fool April 13, 2009 Selena Maranjian	Are Credit Card Companies Being Unpatriotic? The drop in credit card borrowing may seem to represent consumers spending less or paying down their debts, but it also reflects lenders giving up on some debt, calling it uncollectible.
The Motley Fool August 30, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Your Credit Score's All Wrong The author reveals the kinks in the consumer credit scoring system and explains why the credit file you're allowed to see isn't the same one your banker uses.
The Motley Fool October 27, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Halloween Scary Story: Creepy Credit Tricks Wanna see something really scary? Open your credit card statement: Killer fees... Monster-sized interest rates... Bomb-making materials... Debt rising from the dead... etc.
The Motley Fool December 13, 2006 Selena Maranjian	"Unfair" Credit Card Rate Hikes What a surprise -- credit card issuers aren't exactly playing nice. If you'd like to know more about the state of the credit card world, and how it can effect your credit score, read on.
The Motley Fool August 3, 2004	Maximize Your Credit Rating You don't have to be a so-so credit risk. Here are six small ways to keep your credit record clean.
The Motley Fool June 20, 2006 Dayana Yochim	Fake Credit Scores for Sale You might be surprised how label-conscious your lender really is. No matter what the scoring scale, all of these systems are designed to achieve one goal -- to see how risky it is to do business with you based on your past behavior.
The Motley Fool April 12, 2005 Dayana Yochim	That's Gonna Leave a Mark What happens when good people make one bad financial mistake? Unfortunately, there is no legal way to remove accurate negative information from your report.
The Motley Fool August 22, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Credit Scores Age Like Vintage Bordeaux From credit file conception to account closure, your credit score gets better with age.
The Motley Fool April 29, 2005 Dayana Yochim	Why's My FICO Score Wacky? Wonder why your credit scores are so wildly different? It's because the scoring systems are wildly different.
AskMen.com Michael Estrin	13 Things You Don't Know About Your Credit Report Your credit score is a very important number. Here are some things you didn't know about that mysterious number that will help you improve your rating.
The Motley Fool July 17, 2009 Dayana Yochim	Cancel Credit Cards Very, Very Carefully Pitching any of your plastic could be bad for your credit score.
The Motley Fool March 21, 2006 Dayana Yochim	7 Perks of Plastic Convenience isn't the only benefit you get from carrying a credit card. There are true perks (besides those offered by rewards cards) to carrying a credit card that works to your advantage. Consider these.