Mr Credit Radio | 1700AM | Noon to 1:00pm

How do you build your credit if you don’t have any credit or only have bad credit?  I get this question every day and let me tell you, there is a solution.  Here are some key points:

- You need to have an account with activity in the last 6 months that’s at least 6 months old in order to have a credit score.
- Secured Cards are good, but not all are the same.  You will get an inquiry when you apply and you CAN be denied these cards.
- There is an account for everyone.  I can help you find it.  Here are links to the two most popular ones that almost everyone will qualify for…

Public Savings Secured Card

Ox Publishing Online Account

These are the things you DO NOT want to do:

- Apply for credit blind.  You need to know your scores before you do anything.
- Department store cards and Gas cards are not necessarily easier to qualify for, so don’t waste an inquiry on them.
- Your bank doesn’t necessarily offer the best chance for you to build credit.  Many times your own bank will deny you a secured card, which discourages people from trying any further.

Contact me with questions.  Hope it helps!

Derrick Evens
Mr Credit San Diego
858.571.0271
AskMrCredit@yahoo.com

10% of your credit score is derived from the number of Inquiries you have had in the past 12 months.

3-4 inquiries in the last 12 months won’t hurt your credit score in San Diego much, if at all. However, inquiries number 5-10 will do all the damage. Once you have 10, you have already lost all the points associated with this component of the credit score. Because of that, you can only do so much damage to your score with inquiries.

Don’t believe the hog-wash out there about how each inquiry will hurt your score x number of points. It’s just not true.

Important Tip:
Only let a Company inquire on your credit if it’s absolutely necessary. In some cases, when acquiring a service like a new phone line or TV system, you can pay a deposit that will allow them to skip the inquiry. This is usually well worth it.

Important Tip #2:
If you are shopping for a San Diego mortgage or auto loan, all the inquiries you acquire in any 45-day period that are specifically for Auto or Mortgage credit will only be counted as one inquiry. So, feel free to shop around!

Derrick Evens
Mr Credit San Diego
858.571.0271
AskMrCredit@yahoo.com

We are all judged by our Credit score. So, don’t you think it’s a good idea for us to know what they are judging?
-Understanding the basic components of credit is a good start.

Quick Video about every Component of the Credit Score

Payment History/Past Delinquencies – (35%)
-Make your payments on time!

Debt Ratio/Available Credit - (30%)
-Keep only a small balance on your credit cards.

Average Account Age – (15%)
-Never close an account.
Let it age and grow your score with time.

Mix of Credit – (10%)
-You want a mortgage, auto loan and at least 3-5 credit cards.

Inquiries - (10%)
-Don’t get them unless you have to. The fewer the better.

Derrick Evens
Mr Credit San Diego
858.571.0271
AskMrCredit@yahoo.com