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Five Reasons to Check Your Credit Report Regularly

In much the same way that a resume displays your work experience to a prospective employer, a credit report provides prospective creditors (and in some cases employers and insurers too) with a detailed picture of your credit history. And like a resume, your credit report can influence whether you will receive what you are applying for.

Ideally, your credit report is an accurate, up-to-date reflection of your credit history. However, since we don't live in an ideal world, there are many reasons that your credit report could contain inaccuracies that might prevent you from receiving the credit you deserve. The good news is you can take action to keep your report accurate. Here are the top five reasons why you should make a practice of regularly reviewing your credit report:

Inaccuracies & Mixed Credit Files

Many inaccuracies on a credit report can be the result of simple human error, and are therefore are not difficult to dispute. Of course, if you don't order your credit report, you might never know about it. Whether the inaccuracies relate to payments not credited, late payments, or data mixed in from the credit file of someone else with a name similar to yours, you will want to contact the credit bureau to dispute inaccurate information promptly.

Tracking Payments

One of the most important elements of credit is a demonstrated history of on time payments. Once you send the check though, anything can happen--a delay in the payment being received can kick you over to a 30-day delinquency. If you call your creditor and explain the situation, they might adjust the information. Of course, if you don't read your credit report, you won't necessarily know which payments are being received and reported properly.

Identity Theft

This issue alone is reason to order your credit report immediately. Identity theft is an insidious crime, involving a thief who assumes your name to open new accounts, divert your card statements to another address, and run up all sorts of bad debt without you ever knowing about it until collectors come calling. Over time, identity theft could jeopardize your ability to obtain further credit. The best way to catch a thief who is using your name is by getting a copy of your credit report, which will show you if there are accounts listed you know you haven't opened. For example, if a thief has intercepted a pre-approved credit card offer in your name and sent it in with a change of address, your credit report will include the account. Inquiries

If you're shopping around for a loan or more credit, you should know that when creditors check your credit, it places an inquiry on your credit report. Inquiries can add up, which is often interpreted as a negative by creditors. For this reason, too many inquiries can actually make getting credit more difficult. Moreover, if you didn't authorize someone to look at your credit report and they did, they may have broken the law.

Credit Fraud--Unauthorized Charges

Credit fraud involves the theft of your credit card or account number to make unauthorized charges to your account. Though consumers are protected financially from this abuse, other creditors may take note of all this activity and decide to raise your interest rates or refuse to grant you a loan. Ordering your credit report will help you catch new activity on accounts that you haven't been using, or may have closed.

When it comes to managing your credit worthiness, your credit report is your best resource. Ordering your credit report gives you the opportunity to manage your credit wisely today, while planning your credit strategy for achieving future goals--a credit-savvy move every consumer should make! Get Equifax Score Watch Now!

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Understanding Your Credit Score

What does your score mean?

This rating system is meant to develop a snapshot of the risk you currently represent to a lender. Several parameters in your credit file, including length of credit history, number of open accounts, loans, mortgages, public records, and others are formulated to produce a three-digit score between about 300 and 950. There are other scores used by lenders and insurance companies (some of which are developed by FICO®) such as Application and Behavior scores. These other scores take other information into account. Usually a lender will use a combination of your credit score with other factors when determining your risk. They all have the same objective, to determine the borrower's potential risk. Regardless of whether the score was generated by FICO® or a system based on FICO® parameters, they all yield an industry standard three-digit score. This score places the borrower in one of three main categories (we named the third one ourselves.)

Prime, sub-prime, and shafted

Prime If your credit score is above 680, you are considered a "prime borrower" and will have no problem getting a good interest rate on your home loan, car loan, or credit card.
Sub-Prime If your credit score is below 680, you are "sub prime", and will likely pay a much higher interest rate on your loan.
Shafted Below 560 is the shafted score. At least that is how most lenders and credit issuers perceive it. You can still get a credit card but you will likely be hit with a security deposit or high acquisition fee. In addition to that your interest rate will likely be 22 to 23%. You can forget about most home loans and the majority of new car loans at this score. Below 560 is no place to be. You will pay much, much more in higher interest and unnecessary fees. You may even pay more for your insurance rates. A very low score can even prevent you from getting a job with many companies. If your in this catagory Click Here.

How are credit scores calculated?

The methods of calculating your credit score may differ slightly depending on the credit bureau. When obtaining your score from one of the Credit Bureaus it is important to understand that your score does not come directly from FICO®. It is adapted to each bureau and is given its own name: Equifax uses "Beacon", Trans Union uses "Empirica", and Experian uses "Experian/Fair Isaac." These scores are also referred to as your "Bureau Scores."
Since your score is derived from your bureau data, it will change every time your reports change. However your score is calculated, it will always take into consideration many categories of information. No one piece of information or factor determines your score. As the information in your credit report changes, the importance of one or several factors may change in your score. Lenders look at many things when making a credit decision, including your income and the kind of credit you are applying for. However, your credit score does not reflect these facts as it only evaluates the information retained by the credit reporting agency.
To Learn More Click here.

What factors affect your credit score?

There are five factors which are used in credit scoring calculations that determine your overall credit score.
Previous Credit Performance (Payment History) 35% A lender wants to know what your payment history is like. Have you paid everything on time, are you late on anything now, and so on. Your payment history is just one piece of information used in calculating your score, although it can be the very important.
Current Level of Indebtedness (Amount Owed) 30% How much is too much? Can the borrower pay me and still afford to pay his other bills? Not necessarily. Having available credit can actually help your ratio of debt to available credit. These are the types of questions that most borrowers want to know and the answers are almost as important as your previous credit history.
Amount of Time Credit Has Been In Use (Length of Credit) 15% Generally speaking, the longer the credit history the better your score. However, this factor only makes up 15% of your total score so even young people, students or others with short histories can still score high overall as long as the other factors show good. If you are new to credit than there is little you can do to improve this part of your score. Open an account and be patient.
Pursuit of New Credit (10%) Credit is much more popular today. Just look at the number of credit card offers you get via the Internet and in the mail. Consumers can now shop for credit and find the best terms to meet their needs. Each time someone runs a credit check on you, it creates an inquiry.
Fair Isaac has changed some of its calculations to account for these new trends. Specifically, they treat a group of inquiries - which probably represents a search for the best rate on a single loan - as though it was a single inquiry (note: this only applies to auto or mortgage loan inquiries.) For example, auto loan inquires that are within 14 days of each other only count as one inquiry.
Types of Credit Experience (10%) A healthy mix of different types of credit, installment loans, retail accounts, credit cards, and mortgage. This score is not normally a key factor in determining your score but it can help a close score. Its not a good idea to try and open different types of accounts just to try and make this factor better. It will likely reduce your score in other areas. You should never open accounts you don't intend to use anyway.
What type of accounts you have, and how many, can make a big difference. The optimal ratio of installment versus revolving accounts depends on your profile and differs from person to person. One factor that seems to have significant influence is your percent of open installment loans. Too many can lower this portion of your score. For more information Click here.

Suze Orman's Tips on Good Debt Versus Bad Debt

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Some financial experts call certain types of debt "good", while others say all debt is bad debt. Here, Suze Orman - author of Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny, explains the difference between good debt and bad debt.

Tips for Financial Well-Being

"Knowing the difference between good debt and bad debt is the key to financial well-being," says Orman.

  • Good Debt is money borrowed to purchase an asset: homes or mortgage, education or student loans, etc.
  • Bad Debt is money borrowed to finance a "want" or a depreciating asset: cars, credit card balances, home equity lines, etc.

If you're financing a car, Orman suggests a three year loan - no longer. She also says that leasing doesn't make sense because it keeps you perpetually in bad debt. Plus, living paycheck to paycheck doesn't feel good; it's a source of perpetual stress, which affects whether you can achieve your financial goals.

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The Federal Reserve's new rules for credit card companies mean new credit card protections for you. Here are some key changes you should expect from your credit card company beginning on February 22, 2010. Consumer Information

Suze Orman has been called “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse” by USA Today. A two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times mega bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today, Orman is undeniably America’s most recognized expert on personal finance.

Orman is the contributing editor to “O” The Oprah Magazine, the Costco Connection Magazine and for the last eight years host of the award winningSuze Orman Show, which airs every Saturday night on CNBC. Over her television career Suze has accomplished that which no other television personality ever has before. Not only is she the single most successful fundraiser in the history of Public Television, but she has also garnered an unprecedented six Gracie awards, more than anyone in the 34-year history of this prestigious award. The Gracies recognize the nation's best radio, television, and cable programming for, by, and about women.

How accurate is your credit score?

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Applying for a Loan?--Start by Ordering Your Credit Report

If you are considering applying for a loan, ordering a copy of your credit report may well be the best place to start. Why? Because it’s also the first thing a potential creditor will be looking at, and even if you pay your bills on time, you will want to ensure that all the information in your credit file is up-to-date and accurate.

Studies have shown that many credit files contain inaccuracies that could affect your credit rating, and even lead to the rejection of a loan application. That’s why reviewing your credit report beforehand may be a good idea, giving you time to dispute any items that may be the result of simple human error or a technical glitch.

And depending on whether you are applying for an auto loan, a mortgage loan, or a loan for business or personal use, different lenders may apply different standards in rating your credit worthiness. For this reason, reading your credit report and understanding how your credit data might be interpreted may give you a chance to improve your credit worthiness from the point of view of a lender.

Before you begin the application process, check your credit report for the following items:

Clerical Inaccuracies

Sometimes credit reports contain inaccuracies that are the result of a computer glitch or a clerical error. These may include payments not credited, late payments, or data mixed in from a credit file of someone with a name similar to yours. Ordering your credit report will quickly show you what the lender will see--then it’s up to you to dispute any information that you consider inaccurate.

Excess Unused Credit

To make your credit more attractive to a potential lender, you may wish to consider reducing the number of revolving charge accounts that are listed as active on your credit report. Lenders will sometimes view too much revolving debt as a negative when considering a loan application.

In situations where you have stopped using a credit account, it is often a good idea to close the account if you don’t plan to use it anymore. Make sure your creditor notates the account “closed at consumer’s request”--otherwise, a prospective lender might assume the creditor closed the account for other reasons.

A few credit cards managed well may improve your chances for a loan--particularly a mortgage loan, where lenders use stricter qualifying guidelines. Another rule of thumb is to keep balances on credit cards around 75% of the available credit limit. Ironically, credit cards that have lots of room on them may be viewed as potential debt, while maxed-out cards make you a less desirable credit risk--both of these situations could compromise your ability to obtain a loan.

30-day and 60-day Late Payments

Even if your credit report contains a couple of 30-day late payment entries that are accurate, many lenders will overlook the occasional late payment if you explain the situation and your credit is otherwise good. Try to avoid any payment being 60 days late however, as this may be a red flag for some lenders--even if they do grant you the loan, it may come at a higher rate of interest and with less favorable terms.

The primary period lenders are interested in on a credit report is the last two years, so try to maintain on time payments, and verify that the payments are being credited properly by checking your credit report regularly.

Avoid Unnecessary Inquiries

Each time a prospective creditor looks at your credit report, an inquiry notation is added to your file, and most inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years. Inquiries you make yourself, inquiries made during screening for a pre-approved offer of credit, or an inquiry that is part of a background check for employment purposes are not reported to potential credit grantors.)

It is best to avoid over-applying for credit and running up excessive inquiries, for the simple reason that lenders of creditors may think you’re trying to get credit due to financial difficulty, or taking on more debt than you can repay.

Lenders do of course realize that some inquiries are a result of shopping around for the best rates on a loan, and so they will often overlook a block of inquiries within a very recent period. It may help if you explain the inquiries in the application process.

Understanding how your credit report affects your financial future is the key to smart credit management. Incorporating a review of your credit report into your financial planning is also one of the best ways to make sure you meet your goals--especially when those goals involve major purchases, and you’re shopping for a loan with the most favorable terms possible. Learn More.

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