What's Credit

The decisions you make about how you manage your finances and borrow money will affect you and your credit report and score.

Did you know that there are companies (credit bureaus) that keep track of whether you pay your debts and if you make payments on time? Then these companies make this information available in the form of a credit report and score.

A bad credit history can haunt you for a long time—seven years or more. That’s why the best thing to do is learn how to maintain good credit before there’s a problem. While this might seem complicated at first, it gets easier once you understand the basics of credit and how it works.

Credit is more than just a plastic card you use to buy things—it is your financial trustworthiness. Good credit means that your history of payments, employment and salary make you a good candidate for a loan, and creditors—those who lend money or services—will be more willing to work with you. Having good credit usually translates into lower payments and more ease in borrowing money. Bad credit, however, can be a big problem. It usually results from making payments late or borrowing too much money, and it means that you might have trouble getting a car loan, a credit card, a place to live and, sometimes, a job.

3 Major Credit Bureaus

Credit reporting agencies don’t share files, so you’ll need to contact each reporting agency to make sure the information about you is correct. The three major credit reporting agencies are:

Equifax
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com

Experian
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com

TransUnion
1-800-888-4213
www.transunion.com

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Get a Credit Report with FICO Score

See what others see in your credit report! Lenders, landlords, car dealers, – they all can know your FICO® score in your credit report, and so can you. FICO® is the same score that lenders use most to qualify you for credit. And it often determines both the credit amount and the interest rate you receive. Do you know your credit score?

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