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The Ultimate Guide on How to Read a Credit Report

Were you denied for a credit card again? Are you tired of trying to guess why creditors won’t lend you anything?

Are you trying to understand how to read a credit report? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn everything you need to know about your credit report and score.

What’s Your Score, and What Does it Mean?

The first thing you’ll notice about your credit report is your score. This three-digit number is what most lenders will have their eyes on. So, what does it actually mean?

Credit scores range from 300 to 850. Scores at the higher end of the spectrum mean you’ll get lower interest rates. A high score means you pay bills on time, don’t over-extend your credit, and have a good reputation.

Scores at the low end mean you’ll get viewed as risky for lenders. That means you’ll have high interest rates and trouble getting loans.

There are several types of credit scores, but most use similar models to calculate the score. In general, good financial decisions will result in a higher score.

Verify Your Data, Accounts, and Inquiries

Once you see your score, you’ll want to find out why it is what it is. So, what goes into making a credit score? Here are some of the most important factors:

• Your payment history (late or unpaid debts)
• Your credit utilization ratio (used credit versus your credit allowance)
• The types of credit accounts you have
• New credit inquiries
• Your credit history (the age of your accounts)

While looking through your report, take note of all the accounts listed. Verify that all your personal data is correct and the accounts are actually yours.

Many people first learn about identity theft from their reports. If you see an account that’s not yours, then it deserves attention.

Also, take note of any hard inquiries on your report. These hard pulls happen when creditors check your credit. These happen when you apply for a credit card or a loan.

They’re important because too many hard pulls can lower your score. So, don’t apply for any new lines of credit unless you intend to use them.

What to Take From Your Credit Report

Once you’re done looking over your credit report, a few things should pop out at you.

If there’s anything wrong with your report, then you need to deal with it right away. Consider using services, like the ones offered at www.disputebee.com, to remove the errors.

Otherwise, take note of what’s causing your score to drop. Are you often late with payments? Are you using too much of your available credit?

Use the information you learn to make better financial decisions. You should see your score start to rise in no time!

Knowing How to Read a Credit Report

We didn’t learn how to read a credit report in school. Yet, this crucial skill can help us build a better financial future.

If you don’t pay attention to your score, then you’ll have trouble getting loans. It could also impact your ability to get a job, rent a home, or apply for credit cards.

Take control of your financial future and start working on your credit today. Are you looking for more financial advice? If so, then check back on our blog on a regular basis to see our latest content.

How to Find Travel Topics For Your Blog That People Will Actually Read

Would you like to write a travel blog but aren’t sure what to write about?

The world of blogging is full of interesting content that can entertain others. Blogging lets people look into the lives of others, and gather inspiration to do things.

Not only can you entertain people with a blog, but you can also provide valuable information. With a blog, you can post about several travel topics, such as how-to articles and advice.

Continue reading to learn about some ways that you can gather travel topics to write about.

Decide What the Goal of Your Blog Is

When you start writing a blog, you need to decide on what you want people to take away from it. Your blog should revolve around a specific theme. Writing travel blogs allows you to provide several topics to people, but you can’t be all over the place.

If your goal is to help people, you should write articles that help people figure out how to do things and provide travel advice.

If your goal is to inspire people, you can write about the positive things that come with traveling. You can also incorporate photography into your posts to show the beauty of the world.

You can also use a travel blog to document your life. People often use blogs to post about the things that they’re doing, the places they’re visiting, and what their plans are. 

What Do You Enjoy Doing?

You can come up with several travel article ideas by figuring out what you enjoy doing. If you’re someone that enjoys visiting beaches, you can write about cities that are on the coast.

Do you love food? You can be like Migrationology and travel the world to eat food. He goes around to different cities in foreign countries and writes about them and the food that he’s eaten. 

Basing your blog around the things that you enjoy doing will make it more personalized, but readers will be able to expect 

Discuss Travel Topics That Are Useful

One of the reasons that people read travel blogs is because they are planning on traveling themselves. They will want to read the information that they find useful because it will benefit them on their future travels.

Anyone can write about their travel itinerary, but you’ll make a difference to people by providing useful info. You can write about things like travel gear, places to visit, a country’s laws, and what there is to do.

Start Traveling to Get Inspired

If you’re going to write a travel blog, you need to have experience traveling. If you don’t have the experience, you need to, at least, have plans to travel. Without travel experience, you won’t be relatable to viewers.

Having already traveled will allow you to answer questions that you had before traveling, which are the same questions that others ask. You’ll also be able to provide realistic information.

Traveling is a unique experience that lets people learn more about the world. Seeing new places, meeting new people, and eating food that you’ve never seen before will make your mind flow with new travel blog ideas.

During your travels, you may pick up new hobbies or take an interest in a certain lifestyle. This will give you content that you can use for your blog.

If you’ve never traveled before and are interested, you can look into a travel agency to help you plan a vacation. They will help you with hotels, activities, and provide you with more information about the locations that you’re interested in.

Travel Blog Advice

Here is some advice that you should consider if you’d like to make your travel blog successful:

Use Social Media

Social media is dominating the internet, with nearly half of the world using it. With social media, you’ll be able to interact with your audience and post more about your travels.

Platforms like Instagram allow users to post photos and videos to their profile page and “stories.” This gives people something to look at throughout the day, rather than waiting for a new blog post.

Post YouTube Videos

Creating YouTube content will give your blog a boost because you’ll be able to do more. With YouTube, you can post videos, polls, and photos. Users can comment on your posts, giving you a way to receive feedback on your content. 

You can use YouTube hand in hand with your blog, posting videos about your travels. People like to see videos because they provide a real feel of the environment at hand.

If you’d like to get creative, you can invest in a drone for videos of cities and landscapes. Pair your footage with smooth editing and music, then upload your video to YouTube and your blog.

Try New Things

Don’t be afraid to try new things. The whole point of traveling is to experience new things and go out of your comfort zone. If you aren’t willing to do new things, you’ll be limiting your creativity and traveling for nothing.

While traveling in itself is a new and different experience, you should open up to things of different cultures. This will let you think of new things to do, and you’ll be better prepared for future travels.

Start Your Travel Blog Today

Once you have decided that you’d like to start a travel blog, the first thing you have to do is make one. After you make one, think of some things that you’d like to do and places you want to visit.

Coming up with travel topics doesn’t have to be difficult, you just need to allow yourself to embrace the world. 

Feel free to browse our website to find more topics relating to travel!

6 Mobile App Development Blogs that Every Developer Should Read

2018 was the most exciting year for app development yet, as people downloaded a record-breaking 194 billion apps! What’s more, experts predict that number will rise this year, smashing last year’s record.

In short, there’s never been a better time to get into mobile app development. But there’s more to app development than coding. You’ll also need to do research.

Read on as we detail six of the best sources of mobile app development news.

1. MobileAppDaily

MobileAppDaily is easily the most well-rounded blog on this list. Whether you’re developing a game, a utility app, or a streaming platform, or a VR interface, they have you covered.

In addition to tips and tricks to help your development process, MobileAppDaily reviews apps. Send them a build of your app, and you may end up on their homepage.

2. The Verge

Building an app is about more than the development process itself. It’s about predicting future tech and ensuring that you’re using your resources to the fullest extent.

While The Verge isn’t mobile-focused per se, they feature enough stories on mobile app development and mobile tech that they’re worth keeping up with all the same.

3. App Developer Magazine

From the business side of things, App Developer Magazine should be your go-to.

Not only do they have some great advice about coding, monetization, and cryptocurrency, but their business-centric focus can help you land your dream job and work with some of the top mobile development experts in the world.

4. Android Developers Blog

When all else fails, go to the source! Android devs who aren’t taking advantage of Google’s free developer blog are missing out on a fantastic source of firsthand info.

Google’s blog gives developers an inside look at what they’re working on, as well as advice on how to improve preexisting code.

It’s rare to find a company so willing to help devs out, but we’re not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

5. iOS Dev Weekly

We’re nothing if not equal opportunists. Since we gave some love to Android devs, let’s give a shout-out to their iOS counterparts.

Sadly, Apple doesn’t have a developer blog in a traditional sense. They have some articles, sure, but their posts are more press releases than informational posts.

iOS Dev Weekly fills that void, however, with plenty of hand-picked job listings, videos, articles, and how-to guides.

6. TechCrunch

Like The Verge, TechCrunch is a tech news aggregate. With that said, their articles tend to go more in-depth on topics and get into the nitty-gritty technical details.

They also have an entire section of their site dedicated to new startup companies, so you can keep a close eye on what the competition is up to.

Optimize Your Reading List with These Awesome Mobile App Development Blogs

As the mobile market becomes more and more crowded, you’ll need all the info you can get. These mobile app development blogs will give you thorough insight into the world of tech, business, and mobile development.

Looking for more mobile dev info? Be sure to check out our blog for even more great tips!

How to Create a Blog People Will Read

Does it seem like you spend hours and hours each week reading blogs that fascinate you? And after you’re done, do you stare into space above your computer or phone screen, wondering what two cents you might have to offer the world?

Guess what: the world wants to hear your voice! The problem is that among so many millions of other voices, yours can be hard to hear. Creating a blog that people can actually find and that they’ll want to read can be challenging.

There are a few tips and tricks, though, that will make your blog stand out from the crowd. Keep reading to learn how to create a blog from idea to conception, and how to write blog posts to fill it with.

Choose Your Platform

When starting a blog, several platforms are available to pick from. You should pay attention to their features, support, and usability.

The big contenders are:

• WordPress.org
• Blogger
• Tumblr

If you think your platform doesn’t matter, think again. Each has its own distinct features that you should definitely read up on before choosing your blog’s new home.

WordPress.org

WordPress.org is one of the most popular blogging platforms out there, thanks to its versatility. Here’s the deal with WordPress. There are two different websites: wordpress.org and wordpress.com.

WordPress.org is a blog-building platform on which you can construct your blog from scratch, pulling from over 55,000 plugins. It’s free to use, but you will have to pay for a domain name and hosting.

You can do this through WordPress or through a second party. Learn more about hosting options on Bluehost, a hosting service that offers everything from email accounts to 24/7 online support. WordPress.com, on the other hand, is the hosting service created by the same founder of wordpress.org.

Blogger

Blogger is an awesome option for those who aren’t super techy. If you don’t want the hassle of building your own blog from scratch, Blogger is probably for you. They have plenty of nice templates to choose from, and anyone with a Google account can comment on your blog posts.

The downside to Blogger is that it’s not updated as regularly as WordPress. That means fewer theme rollouts and bug fixes.

Tumblr

If you want to add a social element to your blogging experience, Tumblr is the way to go. When you sign into the site, you’ll be faced with your own personal feed of posts from blogs you follow. Tumblr amasses them for you in one convenient newsfeed, so you don’t have to hunt all your favorite Tumblr blogs down to stay updated on their content.

Tumblr also makes it super easy to interact with your blogging community. You can like or reblog other people’s posts, either adding them to your own favorites folder or posting them on your own blog.

They also feature really clean, simple themes that can come off as artistic or as professional as you’d like.

Domain and Hosting

If you’ve chosen to go with wordpress.org, you’re going to need to get external hosting. Blogger and Tumblr will both host your blog right on their platform.

Once you’ve got your hosting all squared away, you’ll want to get your own domain name. Although most blogging platforms will give you a webpage address, it’ll usually be a spin-off of their website name, such as thisisanexample.blogger.com. If you want a normal domain, like yourname.com, you’ll need to pay a hosting service.

These can cost anywhere from $10-$1,000,000 monthly (really). The higher demand there is for your domain, the more it’ll cost you to keep month to month.

Sticking to your name is usually a good idea. It allows for more personal branding, and will usually be on the extra low end of this cost spectrum.

Consider Design

Once you’ve signed up for all the services and platforms you’ll need, you can start to design your actual blog! Each blogging platform will offer a selection of free themes to base your blog on, but you’ll also be able to find some third party themes out there if none of them suit your fancy.

Using a minimal design is usually a good go-to since that design style makes a blog easy to navigate. If minimalism isn’t your thing, just be sure to create clear-cut navigation through your blog to ensure your readers won’t get lost.

Pick Plugins

WordPress has a whole host of user-created plugins that you can choose from to add to your blog. You can find contact forms, password protection, and even SEO optimization to your blog simply and easily through plugins.

Blogger features plugins like this as well, but Blogger hosts them. They offer a more limited selection, but installing them is super user-friendly. You can literally drag and drop your Blogger plugins into the spots you want them on your site, making it easy as pie to add diverse elements to your blog.

Tumblr offers the least in the way of plugins. Their plugins are built into different themes, so you won’t be able to customize your readers’ experience much. They do offer plugins for your newsfeed experience, though!

Write Your Copy

Your platform is chosen, accounts are made, and your blog is finally designed to your liking. Before you add content, consider writing some compelling copy to introduce your readers to your little corner of the internet and let them know how to get in touch with you.

On your about page, tell your readers a little bit about yourself, where you come from, and what your interests are. Readers love when they feel like they know the person on the other side of the screen, so don’t be afraid to get personal!

Add a picture so they can put a face to the name, and tell a little about your blogging niche, so they know what to expect from your content.

On your contact page, include your email address, but never your personal phone number or address. After all, your site will be public!

Invite readers to get in touch to discuss your content or anything else that may strike their fancy. Building an online community is one of the best perks of blogging. You’ll definitely get some emails from new friends wanting to talk about the ideas you’re sharing that week.

What to Write About

Now it’s time to get to the nitty gritty: actually writing your blog posts. If you’re scratching your head wondering what to write about, pull out a piece of paper and a pen.

Write down ten things you know anything more than the average person about. You don’t have to be an expert on a topic to write a blog post. In fact, it’s this sort of thinking that keeps so many bloggers in the dark, feeling unqualified to share their ideas.

You are qualified to share every idea you have, every day. You’re not claiming expertise, but you are claiming your own experiences. Own them.

After you’ve got your list of ten things you know something about, break it down even further. Think of three potential blog posts you could write on each topic.

For instance, if you wrote “photography” as one of your ten areas of knowledge, you could break that down into:

• Choosing your first DSLR camera
• How to shoot in manual on your DSLR camera
• A guide to composing beautiful images

See? It’s that easy. After this exercise, you’ll have thirty–count ’em–thirty blog posts waiting to be written.

Starting a blog can be intimidating, but just remember that it’s your space to share your ideas.

Add Visuals

If you put “photography” on your list of ten areas of knowledge, like in the example above, you’re lucky. Not everyone has that skill, and finding engaging visuals for your blog can certainly be a challenge if you’re no good behind a lens.

Plenty of free stock photography websites are out there that will allow you to use images royalty-free. This is a great option for the beginning blogger who basically just needs content to get up and running.

Once you (and your readers!) fall more and more in love with your blog, though, these won’t feel good enough anymore. This is because they’re not necessarily specific to you, your brand, your voice, or your content.

Luckily, smartphones nowadays grow better and better at taking professional-level photos at a fraction of the cost of professional cameras. If you don’t have the interest in getting into photography, stick to providing your own visuals using your phone.

It’ll feel more personal for your readers, and will even probably spur new content ideas for you!

Create a Blog Today

Hopefully, you’ve learned enough blogging for beginners tips and tricks here to open a new tab and create a blog right away. Before too long, your blog will be read by so many people that you’ll be able to host paid advertisements!

Want to learn more about how to run a successful blog? Check out our other content strategy articles. We love to share knowledge that helps bloggers like you reach their writing goals!