One of the biggest financial decisions most of us make is to choose the terms of the home loan we have on our house. The ramifications of this decision can be huge and there are just so many different products to choose from. It can be a very worrying decision. Perhaps the key is to make sure you do your research and be self aware enough to know what level of risk you can cope with. There is no point saving yourself money, potentially if you are going to worry yourself sick about it.

A fixed rate home loan may appeal to you for your mortgage. Essentially this means that for a certain period of time your repayments on the loan will always be the same. In other words the interest rate on your home loan will not vary. This has got to take a lot of worry out of things for you. You can choose to fix the loan period for between one and five years and no matter what happens your monthly repayments will not rise. This could be the home loan product for you. There are a few things to take into account though. No one can predict with certainty what the market is going to do. It is possible that interest rates will go up and your fixed rate home loan will save you a lot of money. It is also entirely possible that interest rates will go down and in real terms your fixed rate may have cost you money. It is good to have the peace of mind though.

Another option that you have is the variable rate home loan. This is appealing much to the opposite of the fixed rate loan. In other words it follows the nationwide interest rate. If the rate goes down so do your monthly payments, if it goes up then your monthly repayments will too. It is important to note that these fluctuations can be quite thoughtful. Again, it is impossible to precisely forecast what will happen in the financial system. If you have some room in your monthly budget it may be worth taking the risk on this type of loan.

Variable home loans, just to make things more complicated, come in two different types. An essential version that is pretty much a no frills bottom line, mortgage. Traditionally these are taken out by first home loan buyers who want to get into their first house as soon as possible. They often run at up to half a percent below the national interest rate.

The second type is called a standard variable rate. This is the most widespread form of home loan and it contains features that are useful such as a redraw facility and phone banking. This type allows you to make extra repayments without penalty which can be a very useful thing.

If all of this seems too confusing without further explanation then you need to consult the experts. The people at Directmoney Home loans would love to help you, it is, after all their job.

One of the major factors that makes up your credit score is your debt to credit ratio. It actually makes up about 30% of your score. You can easily calculate that ratio by yourself by taking your existing credit card balances and divide it by the total amount of credit that is available to you. Even though this is a very simple calculation, it does provide valuable information as to how easy it is to manipulate your credit score.

So, what if you have a low credit score and want to improve it? You can take advantage of any of the following strategies to push your debt to credit ratio to a more favorable position. There is no magic ratio that you are trying to stay under, but it has been said that under 45% is the safest.

1- The first thing you can do to increase your credit score and lower your debt to credit ratio is to increase your credit limits. The more credit you have available the lower your ratio will be. You should get in the practice of calling all the lenders with whom you have made on time payments for the last 6 months and ask for a credit limit increase. Do this every six months!

2- Take time to review your credit report and reactivate all old accounts. Did you know that most lenders will deactivate your credit card if it is not used for 3-6 months? Inactive card limits are not counted towards your debt to credit ratio. You need to make sure to use every one of your cards to make small purchases over 3-6 months to keep the card active and counting toward your ratio.

3- You can raise your available credit by applying for a new credit card (if you can stay in control of your spending). By adding another card, you are adding available credit without adding to your credit balance. The more credit you are issued and have available, the better your debt to credit ratio will be.

4- Have you ever heard of an authorized user? Most of us havent. Sometimes, due to our lack of credit history, it is hard to build a large available credit limit. If you ask a friend or family member, who has excellent credit and a long credit history to add you to their account, you will immediately receive the benefit of their history and credit limit without the responsibility of making payments.

5- The last and probably the hardest for most individuals is to pay down your balances. As I said above, you should try to get your debt to credit ratio below 45% for the maximum benefit to your credit score.

If you have recently been denied credit or plan to apply for credit soon, it would be wise to obtain your credit report. You know that it is a document that is the foundation of a decision on whether you will receive credit.

You need to know that there are actually three major credit reporting agencies. These are: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. It is possible to receive a free copy of the report from each agency once a year. See freeannualcreditreport.com for information on how to obtain the three copies. You need all three because differences may be apparent.

The reports will have several sections. Know that there will not be personal private information about your race, worth, or salary included. There will be the usual identifying such as name, address, social security number in the first section.

Lines of credit will be included such as balances, monthly payments, and credit limits. This section addresses credit cards, department store credit cards, mortgages, automobile loans, department store cards, gas cards. This will also cite dates accounts were opened, payment history (with late payments), unpaid child support, and overdrawn bank accounts.

Credit reporting agencies also receive information from the court system. This section will have a listing of bankruptcies, liens, judgments, divorce.

Any time that you fill out a credit application ( credit card, loan ) there will be a credit inquiry to one of the bureaus. If you inquire for yourself, it will be on the report. These inquiries will remain for 2 years.

It is to your benefit if your credit report is positive. However, any negative information will remain on the report for 7 years. A bankruptcy is on your credit report for 10 years.

It is highly recommended that we obtain and seriously review our credit reports to be aware of differences on each report, locate any and all errors. It is up to each individual to monitor his/her own credit profile, fix errors, and repair personal credit.

You have reached the point in your life that you realize that you need to make some drastic changes in how you manage your spending and credit before you reach the point of no return. You do not want to rush into “debt consolidation” or use a home equity loan. You need to have a plan that is worked out very carefully.

First of all, you are going to need to collect all your credit reports, credit card and bill payment records, mortgage and loan information. It is likely that some of your repair activities will be going on simultaneously. Debt worksheets are available online to help you.

Be meticulous about ensuring that your credit reports (there are 3 major credit reporting agencies) are accurate and truly reflect your credit status. To complete this project may take some written communications with one or all of the credit reporting agencies. Stay with the process.

Record in black and white all of your financial obligations. This will affect the money management part of the plan. Do list all credit cards in order of highest to lowest interest rates. Also include the monthly minimum payment required for each card.

Now need to know your DISPOSABLE AND DISCRETIONARY INCOME. These “d” words are significant for your plan. Disposable income is the amount of money that comes out of your salary to cover necessary obligations like mortgage, food, utilities, insurance, car, credit cards. Subtract total disposable income from salary, you have discretionary income, the amount to be applied to debt.

Decide which credit cards, and loans that you will pay down in order. For the first one you decide to pay down, pay as much more than minimum as you can. Pay the minimum on the others. When the first is paid off, start applying that same amount to the next debt in line. It won’t be a fast process.

To immerse yourself in this change of pattern of handling money, you need commitment and will not feel comfortable for awhile. Lifestyle changes are needed. You will need to cease unnecessary spending, buy only essentials, avoid travel, eat at home, pay bills on time and stop charging.

The bottom line of the situation is that you are responsible for creating it. There is no credit angel. You need to fix it and use smart money management techniques to maintain your repairs.

Although repairing your own credit is highly recommended, it is sometimes beyond what you believe to be our capability. It may be too emotionally laden and/or you may just not be able to buckle down and make the necessary money management changes without professional help.

When you explore outside agencies, you will immediately notice that there is a plethora of credit repair companies promising you the moon and the stars. Sure, credit repair in 24 hours sounds great, but you can be sure that it’s not going to happen. This kind of claim can be easily dismissed. Also, the internet will offer to have several agencies contact you. They will (in 5 months) and/ or they will make some possibly nasty phone calls to you. Avoid these offers.

When you first read the claims of some of the agencies, you should be able to tell that the claims are ridiculous, such as: repair credit overnight. While those kinds of claims are fairly obvious, others are not. The internet will have ads for you to have several agencies contact you for help. You provide some information. What you might end up with are some annoying and possible nasty phone calls.

For example, if you contact an agency simply for initial information about their services and costs, and they ask for your information before they will provide answers to your questions. If you are not given the answer to your request for information, stay away from such an agency.

Information about services provided, cost structure and time frames should be provided to you without any knowledge on the company’s part regarding your financial situation.

Once you are satisfied with an initial contact, you can ask further questions such as how the procedure will affect your credit reports, how the agency provides assistance with debt management, how does the agency inform you of their activities and does the company offer other money management services.

One of the most important pieces of information you will need to know is about any FEES CHARGED by the agency. Some may require large sums of money upfront along with large monthly fees. How could this work for you if you already can’t pay your debts. Make sure you can handle any fees charged even if the agency says it is not for profit.

Using credit agencies requires effort on your part, but you should be able to find a reputable agency to partner with you, and have your interest at the forefront.