Managing Credit

The cost you pay each year to borrow money, including fees, expressed as a percentage

• APR

• Taxes

• IRS

• Bank Fee

A legal proceeding carried out to allow individuals or businesses freedom from their debts, while simultaneously providing creditors an opportunity for repayment

• Bankruptcy

• Trial

• Summons

• Money Divorce

A declaration by a creditor (usually a credit card account) that an amount of debt is unlikely to be collected; occurs when a consumer becomes severely delinquent on a debt

• Charge-off

• Bankruptcy

• Loan

An attempted recovery of a past-due credit obligation or debt by a collection department or agency

• Collections

• Repo Man

• Bank teller

• Loan Payment

A U.S. government agency that helps protect consumers by regulating financial products and services, like mortgages, credit cards, and student loans

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

• FICA

• IRS

An agreement in which a borrower receives something of value now and agrees to repay the lender in the future, generally with interest

• Credit

• FICO Score

• Banks

• Loan application

A record of a person's use of credit over time; 15% of your credit score is based on the length of your credit history

• Credit History

• Report Card

A detailed plan drawn up by a debt management company (DMC) and sent to an individual's creditors (entities they owe money). It groups several credit card debts into one payment, cuts your interest rate and creates a 3- to 5-year repayment plan.

• Debt Management Plan

• Resume

• FICO Score

• Loan Contract

Long-term failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to, which has a substantial negative impact on the borrower's credit score

• Default

• Bounced Check

• Overdrawn Account

A law that protects consumers from discrimination in the granting or denying of credit

• Equal Credit Opportunity Act

• Constitution Of the United States

• Roe vs Wade

• Credit Act of 1929