Yearly Credit Report

Eagles Classic Car Drive-in, Eagles Club, 917 15th Ave. S.E., Rochester. 282-0470, Carol Hanson. 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Every Wednesday through Oct. 3.

Sue & Sandy's Classic Car Drive-In, Whistle Binkie's on the Lake, 247 Woodlake Drive S.E., Rochester.

The cruelest card

Pay down debt: The closer you are to the limits on accounts, the more it lowers your score. Get your available-credit-to-credit-used ratio under 50%.
Loan yourself money: Open a savings account and take a loan with the savings as collateral.
Keep older accounts: You need to show stability on your credit history, so keep accounts that have been established for more than three years.
Check your credit: By law, you're allowed one free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three credit bureaus.

Governor details credit rating meetings

Reducing government spending, increasing government revenues and borrowing money on the bond market to pay the Government of Guam's deficit - this is Governor Felix Camacho's plan after three months of being on a Credit Watch issued by Standard & Poor's. Since March the Administration has been working on ways to address the financial condition of the island's public sector in order to get a better rating from the financial ratings giant.During a press conference this afternoon Guam's chief executive released few other specifics as to his plan, however he was optimistic about his meeting with the two analysts from S&P. "I believe that the talks were very positive and I believe that in the next few weeks two weeks or beyond we should be able to hear their opinion on whether or not we remain on Credit Watch with Negative Implications, the goal was to get off it, and I believe that we made as good a presentation as we could," Governor Camacho stated.The governor's plan for dealing with the $524 million deficit includes something they've been pushing for years now: deficit financing through borrowing up to $300 million on the bond market.

Getting personal with leadership traits

Do you know what your astrological symbol is? Do you know what personality type you fall under? You probably sense that personality has more to do with your success than astrology, yet most of us know our astrological sign but have only a vague notion of our personality type.

How to deal with tighter credit rules

Mortgage broker Bruce Honaker has seen up close how much tougher it is for people with tarnished credit to get a loan these days.

"If somebody comes into the office now with less than perfect credit and no down payment, they're eight or nine months away from (getting a mortgage)," said Honaker, owner of American Acceptance Capital in Antioch. "I sit down and analyze their situation and try to help them get their credit into (a better) range. We set up a plan to get (bad debts) cleared up, and once their score is up several months down the road, then they can go for the house."

Across the country, people who took out subprime loans -- higher-interest mortgages for those with poor credit -- have begun to default on those loans in record numbers. The result: Lenders have gotten a lot pickier and prospective borrowers have to meet stricter criteria to qualify for a mortgage.

Quick Tips on Personal Loans For The Innocent.

At its most basic level, a loan is a contract between a borrower and a lender. When you are researching them, you must determine first what type you're looking for: a personal loan, a car loan, adverse credit, a consolidation loan or a bridging loan. Then you search through the thousands available from a wide selection of providers. These include:

When buying financial products, be wary of offers of insurance. Refuse to take it on, unless you've no other choice.