How I’ve Started Getting Ahead on 2020 Goals

Thank you Lexington Law Firm for sponsoring this post. A high service partner and consumer advocate that will help you fight for the credit you deserve!

Happy Q4, sweet friends! I am seriously in awe that we are now less than 90 days until the start of a new year and how the year has flown by. By now, y’all know I love all things fall, including apple picking, fall fashion, and taking foliage trips across NC. However, something else I’m excited to do this quarter is getting ahead on my 2020 financial goals. I’ve talked about goal setting here and other ways to get ahead on professional development and educational goals. But today, I want to talk y’all about how my journey with financial goals is pushing me ahead to 2020.

With help from Lexington Law Firm, one of the oldest and most respected names in credit repair, and professionals in legal credit repair knowledge, we can’t talk about financial goals without talking about credit scores. Oh, the number that worries many of us in the dead of night. Like many of you, I have a good amount of student loans from undergrad and will be taking on more as I start grad school in January. I didn’t really feel the impact of the loans on my credit score until I went to get a new car when my old car broke down on Thanksgiving weekend almost three years ago. I was so shocked to see that my score was in the low-mid 600s and that I clearly didn’t have a handle on my credit card spending or knowing how to properly utilize my credit. Now, three years later and interested in purchasing property soon, I have changed how I monitor and judge my credit.

First things first, I mapped out how much credit card debt I had and how much were my minimum and maximum payments based on my current finances. With that, I made a decision to stop using and/or relying on credit cards and look at ways to stabilize my income. Since I was already working for myself running the blog and taking on freelance projects, the first thing I did was increase my rates for partnerships and contracts and started putting that extra money toward credit cards. That was step one to increasing my score. With this, all of my credit card limits increased. This was particularly exciting because: 1. It shows that credit lenders know I can pay bills on time, and 2. This decreases my credit utilization percent which is what I want. This goes along perfectly with one of my 2020 goals to be credit card debt free.

 

Secondly, I started keeping track monthly of my credit score. Lexington Law Firm stands on the ground that everyone should have access to a fair, accurate, and substantiated credit report. They can also help navigate the credit repair process to help clients with cleaning up and building good credit. I get a credit report monthly, all for free with no hit to my score, and I make note of any dramatic changes. Because my second financial goal is to obtain a 775+ by mid-2020, I have to know where I currently stand. I know that I have student debt and will be adding on more next year, so I am working towards this score by not relying on my credit cards.

 

Lastly, I have decided I don’t want to open any new lines of credit. On average, when purchasing a home, brokers will tell you not to have any new lines within six months to a year before applying for a home loan. A denial of a loan for home or cars can take 4 months to correct. AKA if I have my eye on a home right now and then get denied, by the time the credit hit drops off my score, the home will probably no longer be available. Knowing that I want to purchase a home the following year, I can leverage Lexington Law Firm’s knowledge of how to get errors removed from your credit history, and how to communicate with all three of the major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).

When it comes to building good credit and financial stability, Lexington Law Firm helps me stay on track with my goals. Credit building, monitoring, and repairing is a life-long process that prepares you for the future and what it may bring. Lexington Law Firm is there to help you navigate through the process with the confidence you need to do it.

How are you planning for your 2020 goals? Have you already decided where you want to be financially by EOY? Let me know in the comments!