Dream Big: How to START improving your CREDIT!

There are three main credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion...and what I want to point out to everyone is that these are not run by the government, contrary to popular belief. These are COMPANIES! These are FOR PROFIT, companies that collect data from various sources and sell their reports to lenders, individuals, etc. (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_bureau, Sep. 2008).
It is suggested by most financial counselors that you get a free credit report from each of the three burueaus each year. You can obtain that free credit report from this site: http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

Since there is imformation for millions of people within the databases of these companies, they use a unique algorithm to determine your credit score, which is a number between 400-800 that determines how likely you are to pay back debt based on your history of debt and credit. The higher your score, the less of a credit risk you are considered, and the most likely you will be able to borrow money for a mortgage, car lease, etc. for the least amount of interest.

You need to check your credit report, make sure things on there are correct, and if they are not, you need to hire a company, such as CreditTrax, a credit restoration and rebuilding company, to have these debts verified and removed if incorrect, or have them verified on your own, by writing letters to each creditor asking for the debt to be validated or removed. These negative hits on your report can cost you from 50-150 points.

As you use more credit, but not so much that it far exceeds your income, and pay it off timely, you will see your credit score rise.

For more information, talk to a credit counselor about these issues or for more information on Credit Trax, put your name and e-mail in the comments and I will send you some awesome information about getting back on track with credit and debt!!!