Tell my audience about yourself. What made you want to start your website familymoneyvalues.com?

My family has roots in working class and middle class America. We worked hard and long to accumulate a little to pass along to our children and their children. I have become very interested in learning what families do AFTER they accumulate assets: how do they organize their family, what advisers do they use, what investments are available to them, how is their lifestyle different than ours. Are there things that can be harmful if my children and grandchildren become wealthy – if so, how can we avoid those things. So, I began to seek out information on these questions.

My search for this information included searching the internet, scouring libraries and bookstores for books, looking for training classes, and attempting to talk to advisors. In short I looked for information in every way I could think of.

The search yielded a smattering of books, finds of partial information here and there on websites and widely scattered other resources. There was no convenient repository of information, about what to do after you have wealth. That’s why I started the site and the blog – to build a place folks can come to find out “how to be wealthy” – meaning things you need to know after you have the money!

Please name some quick and easy ways for a person to improve their credit even if they’ve recently been through a divorce or some type of financial calamity?

Since 35% of your FICO score is all about paying bills on time, I’d say that they need to make sure they know about all the bills (sometimes after a divorce one partner might not) and then set up a system to make sure they get paid on time.

Also, don’t open a bunch of new credit cards or use up your ‘available credit’ before applying for a car loan.

When a person walks into a car dealership what are some credit questions you recommend that consumer ask the salesman or finance manager?

Everyone should go to their bank or credit union first and pre-approve for a car loan from them so they have something to compare to. They also should know their credit scores before starting to shop for a car. I’d actually prefer to see folks buy used and pay cash. It worked for us. I’d also suggest that they be prepared to walk out if the salesman pulls the ever present stunt (no offense) of keeping them waiting for the credit manager to approve their purchase.

How long does the credit restoration process take?

It depends. If you have trashed your credit, it takes 7 years to disappear from your reports.

If a person can’t purchase a vehicle in cash, what’s the ideal down payment you recommend they have? Does a larger down payment mean a shorter loan and APR?

The answer to that depends on the personal situation of the person wanting the car. What should happen, and I’m not convinced that it always does, is that the lender should offer better terms for a larger down payment – after all, there is less risk for the lender in that deal.

In your a first time car buyer and you’ve never shopped for insurance before, what are some tips to get the lowest payment possible? What are some questions you should ask your insurance agent?

Shop around for insurance. Ask what kind of discounts are available (good student, good driver, features on cars and etc) and what kinds of extras they include with the premium. If you are buying a used car, consider just getting the required liability. If you can afford it, consider a higher deductible amount if it lowers your premiums enough.

Besides familymoneyvalues.com what are some of websites/blogs you would recommend our visitors visit while trying to improve their credit?

I have several other sites myself. Family Executor is for that unlucky person who has to handle the distribution of an estate. Aging Bodies is a site for boomers that is a lighthearted look at aging, and of course the companion blog to our site is Family Money Values Blog.

They also might want to visit the My FICO site and of course they should go to get their free annual credit report from all agencies if they are trying to manage their credit score: Annual Credit Report

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This is our seventh interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+