Recent Articles in Credit Report
Credit scores are three-digit numbers that lending agencies use to determine whether they will allow you to apply for one of their financial products. This could be a mortgage, credit card, or some other form of credit along with the appropriate interest rates. In other words, your credit score shows how trustworthy you are in paying the money owed.
When building credit from scratch (as most young adults must) or rebuilding credit after a run of difficult financial challenges (medical, collections, bankruptcy, job loss, etc.), there are several steps to take to improve credit scores and show potential creditors that you are not a high risk to them (so that they’ll charge a lower interest rate).
Did you know that a recent Consumer Reports study determined that about one-third of the US population have errors, both significant and insignificant, on their credit report?
Shocking, right? After all, you readily accept your credit score as accurate and never even question it because you consider its source trustworthy. But 34% is a huge number and hard to argue with!
You can build credit from scratch faster than you can rebuild bad credit since negative activity remains on your history for seven years or more. Additionally, most lenders who claim to offer loans and credit lines to consumers with poor credit will also loan to those with no credit.
As with everything in life, you will find exceptions to this rule. However, I have found that most people asking this question already have bad credit, or they have had poor credit in the past and worry about a family member or friend going through similar experiences.
Improve your credit score with these practical tips. They work regardless of whether you are trying to improve a poor score to a good score or a good score to an excellent score. Using these strategies can help you to achieve your credit goals.
With two great financial crises hitting the American consumer in a dozen years, FICO’s new consumer resilience index offers prospective lenders a powerful new tool for their evaluation toolbox. Such a score can provide particularly critical information when analyzing consumers with fair credit scores to determine how they might weather future financial crises.
If you have filled out a job application in the 21st century, the potential employer has likely requested your permission to look at your credit as part of their background check. Many job applicants wonder what their credit background has to do with their job qualifications.
You should review your credit at least on an annual basis. Since 2004, all American adults have the right to view their credit reports from the three major consumer reporting agencies, or CRAs (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) every twelve months.
Credit myths pervade our society. Blogs, Facebook posts, Tweets, Pins and Snaps fill the Internet with misinformation and misguided tips on building or rebuilding your credit rating. Here are the top 5 credit myths to be aware of.
A credit freeze means that the consumer reporting agencies cannot provide your credit information to anyone for any purpose until you request the credit reporting agency “thaw” your report.
