Sunday, February 1, 2009

Is your Credit Score where you want it to be?

By Samantha Asher

If you have never seen the commercial about your credit score, you probably don't know what a credit score is. If you do, you probably don't know what your score is. It is, in fact, important. You should know what it is and where it should be.

It's critical that you know what your score is and that you know what a good score is. Your goal should be to continue to get a higher score until you are in the range of "excellent". What is your credit score? It is a grade on your credit, and your credit report show the work you put into it. You can get a copy of your credit report through the link below.

Your credit history includes everything you have ever done that has to do with credit. It includes all the loans and credit cards you have and have had in the past as well as if you have paid your bills on time, late, or at all. If you pay all your bills on time, all the time, you will have a good credit history. These bills include everything from your mortgage payments to utility bills. Even just one late payment can have a big impact on your credit.

Credit reports are critical in the lending process. When you apply for a loan, the creditors will get a copy from 1 or more of the three credit bureaus that issue credit reports to see if you are credit worth. For any kind of loan or credit, they want to know if you'll pay them back.

The creditors will look at several factors in deciding if they'll give you a loan including how much money you make and how steady your job is. More importantly they look at your credit history to see if you are worth lending money to.

Risk has a lot to do with lending. Creditors want to be sure that you are a very low risk, and they see that you never pay people back, they will not lend you any money. You have to prove yourself before anyone will give you a penny, no matter what you're using it for.

Your credit history will also affect the terms of the loan. If you missed a few payments over the years, they will try to make up for the risk by charging you a higher interest rate or by not giving you as much money.

You should periodically check your credit reports just to make sure that everything is in tip top shape for if you ever need a loan. You can get 1 free copy of each of your 3 credit reports once a year.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment