Credit management tactics that actually move your score
Two factors carry 65% of a FICO score. Which ones, what is worth less than people think, and a realistic 12-month plan.
Borrowing costsFixed installments vs advance pay: the real arithmetic
A clean $500 payday cycle costs $75. Six rollovers cost $525 and you still owe the $500. The numbers side by side.
Before you borrowSix things to check before you borrow anything
Hardship plans, LIHEAP and 211, credit union PALs at 28%, the 20% rule, and the scam pattern worth memorising.
What this hub is for
Most content published by lenders exists to move you toward an application. These guides are written to a different standard: if the honest answer is that you should not borrow, or should borrow from someone cheaper, that is what the page says. Three of the six options in our borrowing checklist cost less than we do, and we list them first.
Everything here is written by a named person, reviewed for accuracy by our Head of Credit or Chief Compliance Officer, and dated. The standards we hold to are published in the editorial policy.
Start here, depending on your situation
| If you are | Read |
|---|---|
| Facing a bill you cannot cover this month | Six things to check before you borrow |
| Choosing between a payday advance and a loan | Fixed installments vs advance pay |
| Trying to repair a credit file | Credit management tactics |
| Working out what you can afford | Affordability calculator |
| Comparing two loan offers | APR calculator |
| Wondering whether to consolidate | Debt consolidation calculator |
Free help that is better than anything we sell
These organisations cost you little or nothing and will often solve a problem borrowing cannot.
- 211.org or dial 211, for local emergency rent, utility, food, and medical assistance.
- LIHEAP, for heating and cooling arrears, administered by each state.
- NFCC at nfcc.org, for free and low-cost nonprofit credit counselling and debt management plans.
- consumerfinance.gov, the CFPB's own guidance and complaint system.
- annualcreditreport.com, the only federally authorised source for free credit reports.
What we will not publish here
No guaranteed-approval language, no invented testimonials, no comparisons that hide a fee to flatter our own pricing, and no fake urgency. If a page here recommends something that costs us a sale, that is the policy working rather than an oversight.