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DollarVisor blog

The DollarVisor Blog

Short guides that answer one money question at a time, across insurance, credit cards, loans and investing.

400 guides (page 15)

Credit Cards How to Dispute a Credit Report Error You dispute a credit report error twice, not once: with the credit bureau showing it and with the company that reported it. Put both… Read the guide → Credit Cards What Is Your Starting Credit Score? (Not Zero) There is no starting credit score. Before you qualify for one you have no score at all, which is a different thing from a low score… Read the guide → Credit Cards Credit Score Myths: 10 That Cost You Points Most credit score myths do not cost you points directly. They cost you by pointing you at the wrong 10% of your score while the 65%… Read the guide → Credit Cards Do Student Loans Affect Your Credit Score? Yes, and right now more than almost any other debt. A student loan reports your balance and every payment, so paying on time builds… Read the guide → Credit Cards Does Paying Off a Loan Early Hurt Your Credit? Usually no. Paying off a loan early only dents your score when it leaves you with no active installment account, and that touches on… Read the guide → Credit Cards How Many Credit Cards Should You Have? There is no scoring rule that says how many credit cards you should have. The working answer for most people is two to four, paid in… Read the guide → Credit Cards Does Closing a Credit Card Hurt Your Score? Usually yes, but not for the reason most people expect. Closing a credit card removes its limit from your total available credit, so… Read the guide → Credit Cards What Is a Credit Mix and Does It Matter? Yes, but far less than most advice implies. Your credit mix is the range of account types on your report: cards, loans, mortgages. I… Read the guide → Credit Cards FICO vs VantageScore: Why Your Scores Differ Neither score is fake. FICO vs VantageScore is a question of which rulebook a lender chose, not which number is real. The two models… Read the guide → Credit Cards What Is a Good Credit Utilization Ratio? A good credit utilization ratio is under 10%, not under 30%. People with exceptional FICO Scores report about 6% to 7% of their avai… Read the guide → Credit Cards Hard vs Soft Credit Inquiries: Score Impact The hard vs soft inquiry split comes down to one thing: did you apply? A soft inquiry is a look at your file with no application beh… Read the guide → Credit Cards Does Checking Your Credit Score Lower It? No. Checking your own score is a soft inquiry, and soft inquiries sit outside every scoring formula used in the United States. Only… Read the guide → Credit Cards Why Did My Credit Score Drop for No Reason? If your credit score dropped, something changed on your credit report. There is no "no reason" version. The usual suspects are a hig… Read the guide → Credit Cards How Often Does Your Credit Score Update? Your credit score updates at least once a month, because that is how often most lenders send fresh account data to Equifax, Experian… Read the guide → Insurance Car Insurance Quotes: How to Compare Them Right To compare car insurance quotes properly, lock every quote to the same liability limits, the same deductibles and the same add-ons… Read the guide → Insurance Adding a Driver to Your Car Insurance: The Rules Adding a driver to car insurance is not optional for anyone of driving age who lives with you, or anyone outside the home who uses y… Read the guide → Insurance Can Someone Else Drive My Car? Insurance Rules Can someone else drive my car? Yes. In almost every state, a licensed driver you lend your car to is covered by your policy, because… Read the guide → Insurance Car Insurance Lapse: What Happens and What to Do A car insurance lapse is any stretch of time your registered vehicle has no liability coverage. Your insurer tells the state, and th… Read the guide → Insurance Car Insurance Grace Periods: Missed Payment Rules There is no federal car insurance grace period. What you get is the notice window your state forces your insurer to give you before… Read the guide → Insurance How to Switch Car Insurance Companies You can switch car insurance on any day of your policy, not just at renewal, and you get the unused premium back. Buy the new policy… Read the guide → Insurance Leased Car Insurance: Requirements and Costs Leased car insurance means full coverage plus whatever liability limits your lease names, usually 100/300/50, with the deductible ca… Read the guide → Insurance Electric Car Insurance: Why Rates Run Higher Electric car insurance usually costs more than the same coverage on a gas car. We model a typical uplift of 15 percent, or about $21… Read the guide → Insurance Classic Car Insurance: How It Works and Costs Classic car insurance is a low-mileage, agreed-value policy for a car you keep rather than commute in. We model a $50,000 collector… Read the guide → Insurance First-Time Car Insurance: A Buyer’s Checklist First-time car insurance costs more because you have no coverage history, not only because you are young. We model a first policy at… Read the guide →