Tropical Storm Ida forced more than 230 residents along the Gulf Coast to seek shelter . Residents from Mississippi, Alabama and Florida took shelter in Red Cross shelters as the system caused heavy rain, floods and landslides throughout the country. As people waited out the storm, blankets, kitchen supplies and personal hygiene products were provided by the Red Cross . The Red Cross has long been known to offer shelter, comfort and aid during natural disaster and calamity. They depend not only on monetary donations but vehicle donation as a means to keep funding the vital service they provide across the country.

Just as they are ready to help during disaster, The Red Cross utilizes car donation to teach preparedness, helping people to avert disaster whenever possible. The Red Cross website is an excellent place to start learning about preparedness but the Red Cross volunteers are depended upon to go out into communities and help people prepare for disasters they can prevent. When you donate a car to the Red Cross you are helping people be prepared and stay safe. Auto donation is used all year long but is especially needed during the fall as they prepare for the winter months ahead. You can help people become educated about fire safety with your donated vehicle . Fire displaces hundreds of people each year as the struggle to stay warm, often using heaters incorrectly or using ovens. Many people will lose their home this winter, and your auto donation will allow the Red Cross to offer help . When you donate a car the Red Cross is also able to continue to train volunteers to reach more people in more communities, preventing loss of life and property. Times are tough for everyone now but if you have a car you no longer need you can donate a car to the Red Cross and feel good knowing that you have a difference in someone’s life. The Red Cross needs your car donation to continue to be a shelter during the storms that affect lives in communities across the country all year long.

Even though not all the formalities have been given to the dealers, the Cash for Clunkers or CARS Program is in full effect.

There is only a certain amount of government stimulus available for this program, and once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. As long as you qualify, the amounts given out are either $3,500 or $4,500 depending (more…)

Almost EVERYONE has something they could improve on their credit.

Sure, some things are worse than others. But almost everyone has forgot to pay something and ended up with a small collection or a slow payment on their credit. The problem is usually correctable.

If you could raise your credit score, would you?

Seems like an easy question to answer, but either because of laziness or uncertainty, most people who could improve their credit rating do not. There are several things you can do (for free) to improve your credit rating:

Step 1. Get a copy of your credit report (with score). Sure, you could go to one of the government sponsored sites and get a free credit report, but you those programs do not show you your score. The score is important to benchmark your credit improvement and see what creditors see. Credit.com also offers some free credit report options that include the score. CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE CREDIT REPORT WITH SCORE.

Step 2. Review your credit report looking for things that you know are inaccurate or MAY BE inaccurate. All of the credit bureaus are

required to let you dispute anything that may be inaccurate on your credit. We recommend disputing negative items on your credit IN WRITING via certified mail. The creditors reporting negative items on your credit are REQUIRED to provide proof of any negative item being reported within a short amount of time. If they do not provide proof, the item must be removed.

Some people have A LOT of bad items on their credit. If that is the case, you may decide to have a professional company repair your credit. If you do not have the time to dispute negative items on your credit, you can sign up for Credit Repair at JumpStartMyCredit.com. We also give more details about how to repair your own credit for free in our blog.

Step 3. So you have a copy of your credit report, and you have disputed all of the items you could on your credit. What’s next? Re-establishing your credit. Bad credit may be your past, but we want you to prove that good credit is your future. Many lenders want to see recent loan accounts paid as agreed to consider you for a major loan at prime interest rates. JumpStartMyCredit.com gives you the opportunity to apply for Auto Loans, Home Loans, and Unsecured Loans that can help you show a positive payment history.

Follow the steps above and you will be on your way to an improved credit rating. Keep a look out for future blog posts at JumpStartMyCredit.com.

Bad Credit Auto Loans

JumpStartMyCredit.com is here to help you. If you have bad credit, a good debt to income ratio, a decent steady income, and a willingness to take the necessary steps to rebuild your credit, Bad credit can happen to anyone. When it does, it is important that you can find a place to get help.JumpStartMyCredit.com can work wonders for you. There are car dealers all over the country that specialize in “alternative” or “special” financing. There are even auto dealers that will carry the loans instead of a bank. The dealer is the bank! If you need a car, and have bad credit, there are certain things you need to consider before you buy a particular car.

1. How much can you afford?
An affordable monthly payment is vital for your success. If you bite off more than you can chew, you might make it a couple months, but eventually the loan can go bad.

2. What type of vehicle do you need?
Two or four doors? Automatic or manual transmission? Seating for five or seven? Etc. These questions are important. It is also important that you identify what is a NEED and what is a WANT. You may want a seven passenger SUV, but if there are only three people in your family, do you really need it? The best thing to do in most situations is to get the least expensive vehicle that meets your needs and that the lender will finance.

3. Do you care about building credit?
If the answer is “yes”, you need to consider if it is worth a couple of extra dollars each month to get a loan through a real lender that reports on your credit or to get a vehicle through a “buy-here, pay-here” dealer that does “in house” financing. Sometimes traditional lenders require more money down, but in the long run, it is usually worth it.

If you would like to find out more information on bad credit auto loans, please look through our other articles. You can also ask us a question in our FAQs area.