Good News From The Fed And Why You Should Freeze Your Credit Today

Continued Success

Despite a tumultuous few years, the funeral industry has remained strong. Recent “charge off data” from the Small Business Administration that shows how many loans go bad in which industries, indicates that the funeral homes have a 2% charge off rate. One of the lowest of any industry!
Commercial Printing had one of the highest rates, at 33%, followed by mobile food services at 19% and finish carpentry contractors at 18%.
Today, we are covering the Fed’s announcement not to change rates, predictions for 2024, and credit freezes.

What are interest rates going to look like for 2024?

At the December 13 meeting, the Fed announced that inflation has “eased from its highs” and left interest rates unchanged. They signaled that they would be open to dropping rates next year if the economy stays healthy, which would be welcome news for everyone. They, of course, hedged their bets by saying “nothing was off the table.” The Fed meets again Jan 30-31, 2024. Here’s hoping rate drops contribute to a prosperous 2024! For more info, visit www.federalreserve.gov.
“The Fed’s monetary policy actions are guided by our mandate to promote maximum employment and stable prices for the American people.”

What Is A Credit Freeze?

A credit freeze is a way to restrict anyone from opening credit in your name or accessing your credit report. For example, if your personal information was compromised in a data leak and someone tried to use it to open a new credit card or account, a credit freeze would not allow them to proceed.

Why Should I Freeze My Credit?

A credit freeze is free and can help protect you from identity theft. It is active until you remove it. You can temporarily “lift” the freeze if your bank or credit card company needs to access your account. You can still apply for jobs, rent an apartment, and get insurance with a credit freeze.

How Do I Freeze My Credit?

To freeze your credit, go to each credit bureau and click the links to verify your identity and start the freeze. It typically takes less than 10 minutes. If you need to unfreeze it because you are opening a new credit card or taking out a home equity loan, it takes about 5 minutes.

Equifax: www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services

Experian: www.experian.com/help/

TransUnion: www.transunion.com/credit-help

One Last Thing Re: Credit

Everyone should check their credit report at least once a year. You can check it for free from each credit reporting company every 12 mo. Put it in your calendar to review one of the three companies every four months. This review can catch mistakes and charges you weren’t aware of and help spot signs of identity theft early. I commonly see small medical charges ($500 or less) turned over to collections show up on credit reports. In most cases, clients were unaware of these charges and it adversly affects your credit score. This is something that you can see on your annual credit report. Although there are many resources for monitoring credit, the only site authorized by federal law for your free annual credit report is: www.annualcreditreport.com 

Contact Us

Funeral Home Financing Associates

309-258-3708

jmyers@funeral-financing.com

www.funeral-financing.com

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