You want to build your credit. You need to build your credit. But how do you build your credit? That’s a question that many starting out may wonder, but are unable to come up with an answer. MSN Money has provided some great resources to help get you on the right track.
Liz Weston provides 4 keys to great credit.
- Open Checking and Savings account. She says that “having bank accounts gets you started on the right path and gives you practice in managing your money.” You don’t want to jump in with both feet and then realize that you are in over your head. This is a simple step that will allow you to gradually get started. Just remember to check into different banks, and find out any fees or minimum balances that you will need to keep so you don’t get blindsided.
- Get your Credit Report if you have one. “If you’re young or newly arrived in the United States, you may not have a report or it may have little information. If you’ve had credit problems, your report will list them.”
- Fix any errors or omissions. “Some credit reports include errors… You should read through each of your three reports and note anything that’s incorrect.” This is very important as you don’t want to go apply for new credit to find out that your identity was used my someone else who charged but never paid.
- Add positive information to your report. “..certain information — such as having the same job or address for a few years — can make you appear to be more stable in lenders’ eyes. While this information isn’t used in creating your credit score, it’s often used by lenders in addition to credit scores to make lending decisions.”
Liz goes on to mention ways to obtain credit, as well as how to use it wisely.
She also spoke more about this topic in 9 ways to build credit from scratch. A couple of the things she talks about is getting unsecured/secured credit cards, installment loans, and store cards.
Janet Bodnar @ Kiplinger.com also shows you how you can build your credit without a credit card. They mention a site that’s well worth checking into. It’s Payment Reporting Builds Credit (or PRBC.com). PRBC states that they are “a national consumer reporting agency and credit bureau. PRBC collects, stores, scores and reports bill payment data for “permissible purposes” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It is the first credit bureau to give consumers and small businesses a way to build a credit file to demonstrate creditworthiness without the need to go into debt.”
If you would like to find out what others did to build their credit, connect with them in our groups.
July 24th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
union output new negative research