Tell my audience about yourselves. What made you want to start your website controlyourcash.com?

Pure frustration. Every personal finance website we read seemed to fall into one of 2 categories: a) Frugality tips for the pathologically cheap, e.g. how to save money by brewing your own laundry detergent, and b) first-person confessionals about how the authors fell into debt and are now making miniscule and pointless steps to get out of it. The market seemed to be screaming out for sensible, practical education and advice.

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?

Cut, cut, and cut some more. It sounds like a cliché, but you’ve got to want it (improved credit, that is.) We wish we had a nickel for everyone we know who got rejected for a loan because of outstanding revolving credit balances, yet who thinks nothing of dropping money on alcohol, tobacco, tattoos, vacations, children and/or performance automotive parts.

It’s like peeling off a Band-Aid. Sharp, brief pain beats dull and ongoing pain every time. Live like a religious ascetic until you’ve paid your obligations. Yes, it sucks, especially when your friends are spending money that you don’t seem to have (which assumes that their credit is perfect, which is a big assumption.) That’s not the point. The point is to get up to zero first before you can start taking advantage of credit, instead of it taking advantage of you.

Also, don’t think that accounts you ignore will just go away. The credit agencies have more robust data storage than you do.

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

None! You might as well ask the salesman how much rust proofing you should buy. Always negotiate on price and nothing else. Price, never terms. Get a dollar figure out of the salesman, and don’t even talk to the finance manager. The way to avoid that is to make it clear to the salesman from the start that he won’t be getting a sale if he introduces anyone else into the negotiations at any point.

Once you get the dollar figure, shop around for a loan elsewhere. Your bank. Other banks. Credit unions. Bankrate.com. The dealership is already making money by selling you a car. They don’t need to sell you financing, too. Then again, if the dealer offers you 0% financing over x months, ask how much less they’d take it you were to pay cash then and there.

How long does the credit restoration process take?

Unfortunately, the cabal of actuaries at Fair, Isaac & Co. (creators of the infamous FICO score) don’t divulge the formula they use. So our only hope is to use observed real-world data. We’ve observed that paying off an account and then closing it can improve one’s credit score by a few points in as little as 3 months.

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 ideal answer to the 1st question is “as much as possible.” If you can’t pay cash, pay 99% cash and finance the rest. If you can’t pay 99%, pay 98%, etc. The answer to the 2nd question is “Yes.” It stands to reason that the less you borrow, the less time it should take to pay it off. However, a smaller loan will likely mean a higher APR, not a lower one.

In you’re 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?

Insurance is a pretty indistinguishable commodity. There’s little difference between Allstate’s comprehensive coverage and AAA’s.

You don’t want the lowest payment possible; you want the lowest practical payment possible. It’s easy to buy too little coverage and end up screwed.

That being said, figure out what you want first, then shop for it. Doing it the other way around is stupid. Look at each type of coverage offered and buy accordingly. For instance, you probably aren’t going to need more than $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury coverage. Property damage coverage should be $50,000, enough to cover the cost of most any car you decide to crash into. Get $15,000/$30,000 worth of uninsured/underinsured driver coverage, and get a $500 deductible for both comprehensive and collision insurance. Rental reimbursement coverage is worth it, too, unless you know you’ll have access to another car should yours ever be in the shop for a month.

Forgo uninsured property damage and medical payments coverage (assuming you have health insurance), which are unnecessary.

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

Len Penzo
Afford Anything
Financial Uproar
Timeless Finance

Greg McFarlane of Control Your Cash
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This is our fifteenth 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+