How to repair my credit and improve my FICO credit score!!!

How to repair my credit and improve my FICO credit score

It's important to note that repairing bad credit is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick way to fix a credit score. In fact, out of all of the ways to improve a credit score, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire, so beware of any advice that claims to improve your credit score fast. The best advice for rebuilding credit is to manage it responsibly over time. If you haven't done that, then you need to repair your credit history before you see credit score improvement. The tips below will help you do that. They are divided up into categories based on the data used to calculate your credit score.

1. Check Your Credit Report – Credit score repair begins with your credit report. If you haven't already, request a free copy of your credit report and check it for errors. Your credit report contains the data used to calculate your score and it may contain errors. In particular, check to make sure that there are no late payments incorrectly listed for any of your accounts and that the amounts owed for each of your open accounts is correct. If you find errors on any of your reports, dispute them with the credit bureau and reporting agency.
2. Setup Payment Reminders – Making your credit payments on time is one of the biggest contributing factors to your credit score. Some banks offer payment reminders through their online banking portals that can send you an email or text message reminding you when a payment is due. You could also consider enrolling in automatic payments through your credit card and loan providers to have payments automatically debited from your bank account, but this only makes the minimum payment on your credit cards and does not help instill a sense of money management.
3. Reduce the Amount of Debt You Owe – This is easier said than done, but reducing the amount that you owe is going to be a far more satisfying achievement than improving your credit score. The first thing you need to do is stop using your credit cards. Use your credit report to make a list of all of your accounts and then go online or check recent statements to determine how much you owe on each account and what interest rate they are charging you. Come up with a payment plan that puts most of your available budget for debt payments towards the highest interest cards first, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts.

To view the full article from myFICO.com, visit http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/improveyourscore.aspx.

What Does 540 Calories Look Like???

What Does 540 Calories Look Like?

By Tammy Parkinson
CPT, ACSM, NASM, Nutritionist
Body Firm Personal Training & Nutrition

Each month I get a newsletter from a company called "Health Watch".  Every now and then they pass on some information I find very useful, and I'd like to forward this on to you!

What's 540 Calories?

Here's a little perspective:

One McDonald's Big Mac contains 540 calories, 29 grams of fat, and more than 40 grams of highly-processed, blood-sugar-spiking carbohydrates.  And that doesn't even count the fries and soft drink that you KNOW you're going to order with it.

At the same rate, here are a few alternative food choices and amounts that will land you at the same 540 calories:

140 medium strawberries
5 medium bananas
1 QUART of plain Greek yogurt
14 oz of grilled chicken breast
17 cups of broccoli
6 and 1/2 cups of blueberries

Better yet, go ahead and eat ALL of this in one sitting:

4 oz of grilled chicken (120 cals)
3 cups of broccoli (90 cals)
1 medium banana (100 cals)
8 oz of plain Greek yogurt (130 cals)
10 medium strawberries (40 cals)
1/2 cup of blueberries (40 cals)

So basically, you have an OVERFLOWING plate of chicken and veggies and then a HUGE dessert of yogurt and fruit. I mean, that's a massive quantity of food right there. In fact, most people wouldn't even be able to finish it.

And guess what? It still contains fewer calories than ONE Big Mac and it's WAY healthier.

Adding on to Health Watch's spin...here are a few more "foods/meals" which add up to about 500 kcals

• 2 small slices of pizza or 1 large slice of meat lover's pizza
• 3 chicken wings dipped in 1/4 cup of ranch dressing
• 20 oz big gulp
• 20 oz mocha drink with whole milk
• small margarita
• 2 cosmos
• 3 handfuls oil roasted nuts (small handfuls)
• 2 big chocolate chip cookies

I can go on and on...but I think you get the drift.  We can load ourselves up with non-nutritious calories which give us lots of sugar, fat and salt...but no real nutrients; or we can eat an abundance of amazing nutritious foods which heal our bodies, give us energy, clean our minds and support out health.  You be the judge!  (note...not to say a little cookie here and there isn't fun....but note it's "here and there"!)

Enjoy your health ~!