Personal and Business Credit Score

Your personal and business life, is a good credit score. In fact not only will a good credit score get you credit, but it will get you more credit at cheaper rates. And in reality by following a few simple rules, it is easy to get and maintain an exceptional credit rating. In fact it is not hard at all to go from 0 to 850 in less than 5 years.

Here are some of the basics that have work exceptionally well for me in several countries around the world.

Step 1: Get a credit card.

This is without a doubt one of the simplest ways of building a good credit history fast. Credit card agencies report regularly and so it will grow your credit history with haste. Of course the question is how to get a card if you do not have a history.

Most financial institutions would be willing to give you a credit card if you are willing to make a deposit for the value of your card limit, typical allowing them to hold that deposit in a savings account as surety. This way the bank has no risk, and you get your card.

And if you manage your card well, within about one and half to two years it would be possible for you to get unsecured credit.

Step 2: Pay your card in full

One of the most critical aspects of successful credit card management is that you do not use it as a loan. It should be a convenience card, and you should pay the full amount outstanding every month, and on time of course. So do not spend money on your card that you are not able to pay in full. The interest on outstanding amounts are astronomical and so avoiding unpaid debts on your credit cards are essential. The other benefit of paying your card in full is that your available credit to used credit ratios will look better, and this will improve your score even more.

Step 3: Get secured credit

If you do not own a home, perhaps it is time to consider buying one as soon as possible. This is a very cheap form of credit, and there are several options available that will allow you to minimize your monthly payment and still get the full benefit of positive reporting. Interest only type accounts, secured against your home, will make it possible for your to not only improve your available credit to usage ratio as well, but also reduce your payments monthly, making it easier for you to keep up. Remember though, paying on time is still essential.

Step 4: Manage your bill payments with diligence
 

Paying on time will prevent negative reporting, and so it is important for every commitment you make. Overdue accounts will get reported and cost you dearly on your score.

 

Step 5: Live within your means

Having a regular income will prove helpful for your relationship with your bank, and of course may impact on your credit score. What is more important though is that you live within your means. The banks and the credit agencies have several formulas and ways to calculate your financial position and so making sure that you can afford your commitments, before you make them, will show up somewhere. And if done properly.

Keep Personal Information Private

Most important thing identity theft is on the rise and costing Americans and the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year. In light of this, most states have enacted tough new laws aimed to punish those who steal another person's private information and use it to commit fraud. These laws are also designed to help prevent identity theft from occurring in the first place. They address the ways and means that private businesses and government agencies alike are supposed to dispose of a person's private information that they handle or come in contact with in the course of doing business.

The laws differ from state to state, but they are all written with the same goals in mind - to help prevent identity theft, to punish those who commit this crime and to give victims more options in fighting this scourge of the modern information age.

How to Prevent Becoming a Victim of Identity Theft

When you stop to think about the kind and amount of information citizens typically entrust to their government's care, it can be mind-numbing. Not only social security numbers, but medical information and history, income, immigration status, education and work records - a virtual gold mine of information for a hungry and crafty identity thief. Government agencies are tasked with the safe and proper destruction and disposal of this information or they face stiff penalties for failing to comply.

In this war against an increasingly aggressive band of identity thieves, the role of a professional document shredder cannot be stressed enough. These companies make it their business to know the existing, and oftentimes, stringent federal regulations covering the proper and safe destruction of documents containing personal information. They can thus assure compliance with the law.

Moreover, by employing the highest level of security when shredding personal consumer information, they assure the general public that the information they share with the government is secure and out of the reach of identity thieves. This level of confidence goes a long way in restoring a wary public trust in their government, whether on the local or federal level; it gives taxpayers a sense that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and that their government is looking out for their best interest.

Victims of identity theft can spend thousands of dollars and countless hours getting their lives and affairs back in order. Professional document shredders not only safeguard a consumer's personal information, but also save them time and money by preventing them from becoming victims in the first place.

Personal and Professional Change

Doesn't it feel like the rate of change in the world is speeding up? All the most important things in life are affected by change - our health, our environment, our personal lives and relationships and our professional lives.

Yet change is one of the things we humans most fear; most of us innately aim for security, comfort and stability and change can become a serious stress-inducer for many. Wouldn't it be great if we had a resource that helped people cope with change better, seeing as the need to change seems to be coming at us thicker and faster than ever before? Something that helps people make the personal and professional changes that they need to make, but find so hard?

Neuroscience may be unlocking those resources and they are closer to home than we might imagine.

Personal and Professional Change

In the case of making big personal changes, nearly all attempts fail - something like 90%. How did you fare with this year's New Year resolutions? How about last year's?

At work how do you feel when your company announces that there will be big changes in the near future but you are not clear on the details? You probably feel under threat and that may start to stress you out.

This is why changing whole organizations is a huge challenge and why it takes specialist knowledge and experience.

But how can neuroscience help?

Neuroscience and Empathy

A few years ago, behavioral neuroscientists in Italy discovered a new class of brain cells called "mirror neurons" that appear to form the basis of empathy in humans. They seem to have the ability to mirror one person's actions in another person's brain.

While it's important not to read too much into individual studies by neuroscientists, it throws up some very interesting possibilities for explaining why mentoring can be such a powerful way for leaders to help people change their behavioral in teams and organizations.

The finding also has repercussions for the importance of strong human connections, collaboration and teamwork - especially in this day and age, where increased automation can lead to isolation and remoteness for team members in organizations.

Implications for Team Performance and Leadership

Successful team performance involves finding common ground and using it to drive the individuals and the team forward as one; a good leader focuses on directing this process and using the common ground as the binding force to keep everyone moving along the same track and helping them feel a sense of belonging.

This may mean going against the grain of using every single advance of technology to make our jobs easier and more productive, and instead focusing on the value of team members working creatively and collaboratively. There is no getting away from the social requirement of people to interact - as employees don't cease to be human beings when they walk through the office door on a Monday morning.

Understanding more about this aspect of neuroscience is important in many areas of business - not just in organizational change. It has repercussions for hiring policies and leadership appointments, where greater value might be given to a leader's emotional intelligence over his or her experience or academic achievements, for instance. It can also positively affect the bottom line, with lower staff turnover and a happier workplace meaning happier customers who will keep coming back for more.

In these days of growing disconnectedness amongst people, despite the growing technological connectedness around us, it is encouraging to find neuroscience helping us understand more about how we can improve personal, business and organizational relationships.