The Bad Credit Support Center

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like dealing with bad credit, you are never alone. Countless men and women have faced the exact same problem and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.

TSC has scoured the Internet and assembled links to the very best resources about dealing with bad credit: Articles, blogs, forums and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of financial and emotional challenges that you face.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this Bad Credit guide even more helpful to survivors like you.

JUST FOUND OUT

Survivors Say: Best Resources for Bad Credit

• Credit Problems and How to Get Help This guide from the HSBC - North America Center for Consumer Advocacy gives information about how to identify credit problems, and details on credit counseling.
• Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself  Check out the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's brochure about how you can improve your credit standing.
• Bad Credit Score? Here's How to Fix It The personal-finance Web site Bankrate.com gives advice from a credit-repair expert on how to rebuild your credit score and look more appealing to lenders.

The Big Picture

When Good Credit Goes Bad

The term "bad credit" is used to describe a bad credit rating. Common practices that can damage your credit rating include making late payments, skipping payments, exceeding the limits on your credit cards, and declaring bankruptcy. Having a bad credit rating means you'll pay more for pretty much everything you need, from car loans to cell phones. Once lenders red-flag you as a credit risk, the flag will fly until everything has been paid or settled.

Bad Credit Hurts in Many Ways  This Bankrate.com article explains how bad credit can affect pretty much everything you purchase, from cell phones to car loans.

There are several reasons why good credit can go bad. Many people attempt to buy everything they need -- and want -- in one fell swoop, often leaving themselves with credit-card debt, car payments, home mortgages and other types of debt to pay off every month. Add student-loan payments, utilities, health insurance, groceries and other bills to the list, and some people will resort to using their credit card to pay them off. That's a glaring sign that you're headed down the road toward a bad credit rating.

24 Signs That You Could Be in Financial Trouble The blog Generation X Finance gives advice on how to recognize potential signs you're in financial trouble -- many of them involving how you handle your credit.

Understanding Your Credit Dilemma

Credit & Debt - What Causes Bad Credit? There are many things that can negatively affect a good credit score. This list from CreditandDebt.com gives details about the various categories that can lower your credit rating, from companies inquiring into your credit history to lenders taking you to court for nonpayment. 

Understanding your Credit Score Download the first two brochures about understanding FICO scores and credit scores from Fair Isaac, the company that invented the credit-risk score most lenders use to evaluate your financial background.

Bad Credit Myths

•  "Earning a large income guarantees I'll have good credit."
•   "All late payments I make, no matter how old, hurts my credit equally."
•  "I'll never be able to repair my bad credit."

Click on a myth to find out the truth behind it.

Information From Bad Credit Survivors

Bad credit doesn't mean you'll end up in financial ruin. Though it may realistically cause a few headaches when you're looking to buy a car, rent an apartment or purchase a house, it can be a temporary blip on your credit record. The situation can serve as a learning experience and if you're willing to take responsibility for the actions that left you with bad credit, you can spin the negative experience into a positive future.

Survivors say these are the best guides -- check them out to find out more about your options.

What Can be Done for Bad Credit

How to Organize Your Finances in Four Easy Steps When suffering from bad credit, it's necessary to go back to square one and reorganize the way you manage your money. The blog Get Rich Slowly shows you how to do so.

How to Make a Budget  Making a budget is essential for determining what's going in and out of your wallet, reducing debt and repairing your credit. About.com gives a step-by-step guide on how to create one that works for you.

How to Repair Your Credit  About.com also has a detailed do-it-yourself guide to improving your credit rating.

Guide to Consolidating Your Debt  Bankrate.com helps you determine whether you're in so deep that debt consolidation could help you rebuild your credit by paying off your debt faster. 

Annual Credit Report Keep tabs on how your efforts are repairing your credit by ordering your credit report for free from the three credit agencies every year.

Financial Professionals Who Can Help Restore Credit

Seeking Debt Help  If you've tried to reduce your debt and still can't, Bankrate.com offers this guide for determining whether you need expert assistance.

National Foundation for Credit Counseling  This nonprofit organization has 900 agencies nationwide that offer budget counseling, debt management plans and financial literacy courses.

Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies An accredited agency with certified credit counselors in all 50 states.

Helpful Books for Repairing Your Credit

Credit Repair Kit for Dummies by Stephen R. Bucci: The ABCs of credit in an easy-to-understand format.

Credit Secrets: How to Erase Bad Credit by Bob Hammond: Tips from credit counselors, lenders and other financial experts on how to make bad credit disappear.

The Insider's Guide to Credit Repair by K.E. Varner: Inside tips on improving your credit from a former instructor at one of the national credit-reporting agencies.

Information and Recommended Links for Co-Survivors

As a co-survivor of someone experiencing or coming out of a bad credit scenario, you may be very involved in the situation. Consider a few resources to help your survivor and yourself make the journey through credit repair more bearable.

How You Can Help

• Offer an example of good credit habits.
• Don't suggest expensive social outings that could cause budget stress.
• Help the bad-credit survivor set goals and write them down.

What to Say

• Focus on the positive. Help him find ways to budget money, make timely payments and pay down debt, and give encouragement for good efforts. Money-Saving Strategies from Good Housekeeping
• Offer reason and rationality. Help the survivor assess her situation, and remind her that she needs to be fiscally responsible for her debt management

What Not to Say

• "You're so financially irresponsible, no wonder your credit is a mess." (Remember to focus on the positive.)
• "There's really no way to recover from a bad credit history." (That's not actually true, so be sure you're well-educated on the issue before offering any advice.) Credit Myths Revealed

How to Build a Support Network

• Set up your TSC co-survivor profile
• Create a support group for your loved one
• Interact, provide updates and share your bad credit experiences

Helping a Survivor Deal With Day-to-Day Distractions

• Work – Help by encouraging a survivor to work towards excellent credit -- because bad credit can sometimes be detrimental to job situations. How Bad Credit Can Cost You A Job
• The unemployed have rights when it comes to fair debt collection and fair credit-reporting practices. Out of Work? How to Deal with Creditors
• School – Bad credit can often make the student-loan process a difficult one, but it is far from impossible.  Alternative Financing for Bad-Credit Student Loans 

Bad credit doesn't happen overnight, and it won't end overnight, either. But the efforts you make to repair your credit standing will be worth it. Not only will you improve your skills in budgeting, debt management and overall financial literacy, you'll be able to apply them to your daily life and thrive financially and in your day-to-day life.

Surviving with and Repairing Your Bad Credit

Protect Yourself from Credit Repair Scams  The Federal Trade Commission shows you how to recognize whether a company offering to help fix your credit is up to no good.

Cleaning Up Your Credit Report  The legal-advice organization NOLO answers FAQs about building up your credit to a gold-star level.

Seven Fast Fixes to Your Credit Score  MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston gives the best methods for speedy credit repair.

FICO Forums Ask questions from -- and offer your own help to -- people repairing their own credit ratings.

Giving Back – Helping Other Survivors with Bad Credit to Thrive

• Create a TSC profile and begin interacting
• Share your story – How you found your way out of your bad credit scenario
• Become a mentor for another bad credit survivor