Brian Ripp's Blog

1. Pay your bills on time. Payment history accounts for roughly 35% of your score. So paying bills on time is the most important thing you can do. If you’re behind, get caught up and then stay current. If you’re struggling, contact your creditors to work out a payment schedule. 2. Increase the le...

Here are some suggestions to ensure that your home is energy efficient and ready for the colder winter weather. Test your homes energy efficiency.  You can perform a simple audit of your home’s energy use by following the guidelines at EnergyStar.gov. You can also have PG&E or a home inspector ev...

Like the residential housing market, the remodeling market is showing signs of improvement, according to two leading industry indexes. The National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI) rose five points in the fourth quarter of 2011 from the third quarter, reaching its highe...