Credit

Today I searched the net to find out more about credit, and guess what? There is precious little out there about how it all works. What precious little I did find I will share with you here.

The first consensus you will find is absolutely get your free annual credit report! There are three agencies that you will recieve a report from they are Transunion, Experian and Equifax. Be sure to check all three as they may have different information on each of them. This is important because you may have inaccurate data in your report and you will want to clear it up on all credit reports. You can have things removed from yours and will want to follow the guidelines for each company.

Beyond that the whats and whys of the credit score are like Fort Knox. A guarded government stronghold! Here is the breakdown of what can affect your credit score.

1) Past due bills such as electric and cell phone
2) Amount of income to debt
3) Amount of available credit ie.. the 5000.00 credit card that has no balance
4) Number of times you have applied for credit
5) Bankruptcy
6) In some states public record such as child support or court judgements

And I am sure there are many more that I have yet to discover. The bottom line is this if you are thinking of buying a car or a new home you need to check your credit before they do, then clear any errors. A raise in your credit score of even 30 points can significantly reduce the interest rates you may incur.

WARNING: NEVER use the "credit repair" scams! They are illegal and many times will take your money and leave you with little change in your credit.