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Your FICO score is a vital component of managing your finances. This is the number used by the credit bureaus to determine how good your credit is. The FICO scoring system can appear to be pretty complicated if you do not know how it works. On the other hand, if you know how your FICO score is calculated, you can easily find ways to keep a good score or repair a bad one. Understanding your FICO credit score is key to maintaining good credit and keeping yourself afloat.

The first part of knowing how the FICO scoring system works is to know what qualifies as a good credit score. The highest score you can receive is 850. The best range is between 720 and 850, with scores from 675 up to 719 still representing good credit. Scores below 675 may have trouble getting good terms on money borrowed, and below 620, it may be hard to get credit at all. A score of 300 is the bottom of the FICO score ladder.

Your FICO credit score is made up of a number of factors. Thirty-five percent of your credit score is based on how punctual you are with payments. Any payment over thirty days late can be reported to the credit bureaus and lower your score. Thirty percent of your score is also based on your total debt -- the ratio of revolving debt, like credit card balances, to available revolving credit, such as your credit limit.

Another fifteen percent of your credit score is based on the length of your credit history from the time you first borrowed money to the present. Ten percent is based on the kinds of credit you use. Some kinds are weighted more heavily. The final ten percent of your FICO score is determined by how much credit you have used recently.

Some special factors that can influence your FICO credit score include money you owe due to a court judgment or tax lien. These can carry a very large credit score penalty. If you have more than a particular number of consumer finance credit accounts, you will also find that your score is impacted negatively. The number of credit checks made recently can also lower your score, although the credit bureaus do allow for a certain number of checks in a particular window of time, such as might occur when you are shopping for the best rate on a loan.

There are three major credit reporting agencies in the United States: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. They all record credit a little differently, meaning that it's important to get a report from each to get an accurate picture of your credit. Any US resident has the right to request a copy of his or her report from each agency once a year. You can do this through through the Internet, via a toll free call, or by mailing an Annual Credit Report Request Form. This report does not contain your FICO score. However, you can choose to purchase that credit score for a small fee at the time you access your report.

Paul Sarwana offers free FICO score credit rating information to help debtors build confidence in improving their financial situation. He runs an informational website that provides tips about finding a debt relief service, dealing with creditors, dealing with 3 major credit bureaus and increasing FICO credit score. Please visit http://www.debtfirms.com/ to get more quality FICO score information.

# posted by qbnkinw : 6:02 PM  0 comments

Let's picture the scene. You and your significant other go looking for an apartment to rent. You've been thinking about taking the plunge for a while, and with much excitement, you both decide it's time for the big move in together. You drive around neighborhoods, check the newspaper, talk to family and friends, and finally, find the perfect community to hang your hats! Only an hour after you've picked out some new furniture and planned the moving in party, you get a call from the management telling you your credit has been rejected! Ouch. That hurts. I know, because the above happened to me.

Let's take a look at what you can do about it.

First, you need to get a copy of your credit report. It wouldn't be a bad idea to call the apartment manager and ask if you can see the report that she pulled for you with your application, but generally they are reluctant to do that for you. ( It never hurts to ask, though!) Otherwise you can get your report for free, once a year online, or in the above instance of being denied credit or housing, you can also get it for free from the bureau that furnished the info that resulted in a declined application.

Next, very simply, you've got to check out what your report says about you. The good news is that according to many consumer group studies, as well as independent audits of the three major repositories, over 1/3 of all reports have errors. And most of those errors hurt your score, rather than help it. And you have the right to challenge ANYTHING you feel is wrong - even a little bit wrong!

How are you going to do this? Well, you are going to simply write a letter to the bureau on your own letterhead ( do not use the forms supplied with your report ) and in a very succinct and straightforward manner, tell the bureau which specific accounts are incorrect. You are also going to tell them the OUTCOME you wish to occur when they investigate your request. As we've alluded to above, you want to tell them to DELETE this ( or these) items from your record immediately.

Sound challenging? It's not. Thousands of people do it everyday. And if you are facing the prospect of even ONE MORE year of bad credit, you should make it a point to join them, and do it quickly!

With the right information, everyone, including YOU, can fix their credit, quickly, easily and ethically with a minimum of muss or fuss. Don't let them tell you its too expensive, or too hard - it's not, self help credit repair is actually the most AFFORDABLE investment you can make in your families future!

You are Standing on the Threshold of a New Financial Future!

For more great insider information, secret videos and free downloads on how you can raise your credit score, easily, ethically and inexpensively, Click here to give yourself the gift of good credit this Christmas!

# posted by qbnkinw : 3:27 AM  0 comments