Sports Franchise
Values
Date Added: May 1st, 2004
By Chris Stallman
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Probably
the single most important permanent record you'll have in your life
is your credit report (besides, of course, your criminal record...which
we hope you won't have). Your credit report is basically a
report that details your current credit and how you've managed your
credit over time.
The Importance
of Your Report
Your credit report is incredibly important because
companies look at it every time you apply for a loan, finance a
car, rent an apartment, buy a cell phone, apply for a credit card,
or take out a mortgage to buy a house. If your credit isn't
good enough, you can be denied.
Your credit report will basically follow you everywhere
you go in life. If you start having problems with managing
your credit, it'll begin to affect you in a number of different
ways in life.
Things That Negatively
Affect Your Credit Report
Your credit report is given a credit score. The
higher the score, the better your credit. Various things can
lower your score, including…
-Not making your
monthly payments: If
you forget to make a payment or just can't afford your monthly payment,
it'll affect your credit report. Be sure to get your payments
in on time.
-Having a lot
of credit cards and loans: If
you have too many credit cards and loans, it's called overextending
your line of credit. You'll be too risky of a client to get
another loan or credit card.
-Changing credit
cards frequently: This
doesn't affect it as much as the others but changing credit cards
frequently will lower your score slightly.
-Carrying high
balances: If you have a high
balance on your credit cards, your credit score will obviously be
lowered.
Things That Positively
Affect Your Credit Report
Believe it or not, things can actually raise
your credit score, so it's important to know about these.
-Always making
your monthly payments: This
shows companies that you're responsible with your credit.
-Having few credit
cards and keeping them for a long time: The
longer you have a credit card, the better your score. And
the fewer credit cards, the better.
-Carrying low
balances or regularly paying them off: It's
always good to have a low balance but it's also good for your credit
if you regularly have high balances and pay them off right away.
Like if you make big purchases but pay them off the next month.
-Having reasonable
lines of credit: Someone
who has a $2000 limit on their credit card will improve their credit
better than someone with a $500 limit, if they're responsible.
But too high
of limits can be bad.
I recommend looking at your credit score from time
to time. It'll give you a chance to see what's helping your
credit report and what's hurting it. Some credit reporting
services will even recommend ways for you to improve your credit
score. Just be sure your score never sinks to a level where
you're in danger of not being able to achieve your financial goals.
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