Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
How to Improve Your Credit Score with Self Lender
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When it comes to building credit, I’m very protective of my audience. There are a lot of bad players out there that will claim to help you get out of debt or improve your credit but will instead cost you money you can’t afford. There are good players on the field too, though, like Self Lender.
Self Lender launched about two and a half years ago with the goal to change people’s behavior – and their credit score.
I recently spoke to Brett Billick to learn more about Self Lender. Brett tells it like this. It all began when founder James Garvey thought his credit cards were set up on autopay – by the time he figured out they weren’t, he had already missed payments and his credit score had taken a hit.
Garvey decided to see what options were out there for those trying to rebuild credit and those starting from scratch. He found credit repair agencies, which can cost hundreds of dollars a month.
“They can work in their own right, but they can be expensive and hard to get going,” Billick said.
Garvey also explored secured credit cards but found that they cost at least $200 to get started. Billick said on average, the startup cost is closer to $500. The initial investment makes it harder for those struggling financially to get a secured credit card because they often don’t have $500 laying around.
Garvey wanted something that was more accessible to everyone who needed to build credit, so the idea of Self Lender was born – and I absolutely love it!
How It Works
“Self Lender is something technically called a credit builder loan,” said Billick. “You’re actually taking out a small installment loan.”
That may sound intimidating but trust me, it’s worth it. The loan can be as small as $500 on up to $1700. Payments start as low as $25 a month***. The thing is, you don’t get the money right away.
“It’s not something like a payday loan, which has a whole lot of baggage,” said Billick. “It is a loan put in your name, but it’s backed by a certificate of deposit.”
You make regular monthly payments on the loan and they’re reported to the three major credit reporting companies – if you don’t pay, that’s reported too, so make sure you stay on top of it. Finally, at the end of the term, you get your principal back. Don't worry, you read that right – you get the money back!
As a result, you improve your credit score** by making payments, and you are also paying yourself the whole time!
“It’s like a forced savings account,” Billick said.
Because Self Lender is a way for you to create good behavior AND save money over time, it’s a huge win for the Self Lender customer!
“The savings plan aspect of our products helps people quite a bit because it forces you to put money aside,” he said.
Almost 200,000 people have used Self Lender. While the results vary, the average credit score increase for those working to repair their credit is about 45 points!**
Don’t have any credit history? No problem. The Self Lender loan has helped boost customers with no credit to an average score of 670!*
Cost
There’s got to be a big fee for this service, right? Wrong. All it takes to start is a small administrative fee ranging from around $9-12.*** That’s it. With the money you get back and the improved credit score*, that investment is a no-brainer, in my opinion.
To learn more about Self Lender, click here.
*The comment above is related to individual experiences or results. Your results may vary.
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