Personal Bad Credit

Due to the recession and the global economic crisis, many honest and hard working individuals now find themselves and their families in a real fiscal dilemma; personal bad credit. What is more unfortunate is that in many cases, the people suffering from the crisis had little or no warning about the pending downturn which began as a minor housing market 'hiccup' in 2007. . Making matters worse, economists say, is the tightening of lending standards by major credit issuers, particularly for consumers with derogatory payment histories. Does this spell the end of loans and credit cards for people with bad credit?

Those most affected with personal bad credit are those over 45. Rising unemployment, personal debt and falling house prices have caused personal bankruptcy rates to soar.

Quick debt solutions aren't easy to come by for people with personal bad credit, but here are a few tips that can help you manage it.

If you have credit card debt, the best place to start is taking stock of how many credit cards you have, how much you owe, what the interest rates are on each credit card and what your total monthly payments are.

Then you can figure out whether or not to take advantage of special promotional balance transfer rates from new credit cards, how soon you can pay off your credit card debt and how your current debt load is affecting your personal bad credit as reflected by your credit score.

The three major credit reporting agencies are required to offer you one free credit report per year, but they are not required to tell you your credit score. Be wary of offers for free credit scores. They are usually schemes with the intent to sign you up to a program that will cost you a monthly fee for score updates.

You might consider a balance transfer offer, but make sure that you understand that personal bad credit will affect your ability to qualify.

Check interest rates, balance transfer fees, what the promotional balance transfer rate is, when that rate expires and what the rate will be after the promotional period is up.