Tag Archive | "Credit card"

Blog, Wealth Building

The fastest way to increase your credit score18 Feb

As credit cards balances get close to their maximum limits, your score will start to drop. In fact, a single credit card at its maximum limit can lower someone’s credit score by 75-100 points.  This drop in a score can be the difference between a mortgage loan approval or denial, or add 2% to the [...]
Blog, Home Buying, Mortgage

Do this if you don’t have a 740 or Better Credit Score09 Feb

You need to get your credit score to at least 740 in today’s economy. If your credit score is not a 740 or higher, you will pay more for things like home loans, auto loans, credit cards, insurance. The extra costs of all these things will make it very difficult to have extra money left over.  [...]
Blog, Financial Safety

Credit Cards’ Ugly History04 Feb

Credit Card interest can eat your financial lunch, if you let it.  The average interest rate on credit cards over 12%, and there is almost $1 Trillion in outstanding credit card balances. Some quick math yields over $120 Billion spent annually on credit card interest.  Since Interest on Credit Cards are not tax deductible, Americans have [...]
Blog, Financial Safety, Mortgage

Improve your credit score – too much credit?04 Feb

When you got a copy of your credit report (www.annualcreditreport.com) last week, I asked you to count your tradelines.  If you didn’t get your credit report yet, read this post first on how & why.  If you have been using credit for more than 10 years and have no late payments, you are at a [...]
Blog, Financial Safety, Home Buying, Refinancing

Improving your Credit Score – Step One03 Feb

Know what you are working with! Image via Wikipedia If you haven’t seen your credit report in a while, get a copy now.  There is only one place for a truly ‘Free’ report – but it comes with a catch – www.AnnualCreditReport.com will give you a copy, but the catch is you have to pay for your [...]
Blog, Financial Safety, Home Buying, Mortgage

February is Credit Score Improvement Month02 Feb

I’ve decided that February is going to be Credit Score Improvement Month here at StartwiththeHouse.com and in Charlotte, NC. All this month, I am going to be posting tips and articles on specific things you can do to improve your credit score. Why work on improving your credit score? Your credit score impacts so many areas of your [...]

About

My first profession was an F-16 pilot with the United States Air Force followed by short stint as a commercial airline pilot with US Airways.  As a pilot, I honed my ability to stay focused on “the mission” while adjusting to unplanned circumstances like bad weather, equipment problems, and even enemy aircraft.  This ability serves me well as a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS).

Speaking as a former airline pilot, a long flight resembles a mortgage: you should start with a destination in mind, a plan for how to arrive there, and adjust your course along the way.  With a mortgage, the destination is paying off the loan and living in the right home.  You make course corrections by paying extra on the mortgage, using a home equity line or refinancing.

In a long flight, however, missing one simple thing at the beginning, like checking the oil level in the engines, or setting the heading wrong by even just one degree, could have disastrous consequences later on. Same with a mortgage.

I had big ambitions when I started my mortgage company (and still have them). I envisioned a company that would help homebuyers develop an integrated mortgage strategy that would lead to financial clarity, and a plan that would help them increase their financial security, minimize their tax obligations, and increase their net worth over time.

Read more about Tom Tousignant . . .

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Tom Tousignant, CMPS
704-541-1171 Office
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Tom@StartWithTheHouse.com

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