The other day I couldn't zip my pair of pants from last season. I took
a good long look at myself in the mirror and I noticed how much weight I had put
on around my middle section. "If I had only known," I disparaged, "I would
have done sit-ups." I really love those parts.
Ignoring your credit
rating can put you in a similarly uncomfortable situation. I shouldn't have
ignored my expanding waistline and no one should ignore their credit
rating.
More and more of my clients these days are coming to me with no knowledge
of their credit rating. They come in and say, "I want to plan for the
future." I ask, "What is your credit rating now?" They just look at me
blankly with a hint of embarrassment.
Other names for credit reports are credit records, credit histories, and
credit files. They are referring to the same documents. They are records
of borrowers' bill-paying habits. They are collected, stored, and sold by
credit reporting companies.
Your credit history provides important data
that impacts your borrowing ability. Perhaps even more importantly, it
determines how much you will have to pay a lender to borrow its money.
Obtain a
copy of your credit file to ensure the records are exact, comprehensive, and
timely before you apply for a loan for a major acquisition like a house or car,
buy insurance, or apply for a job. Many employers are currently asking for
credit reports for new hires as a reference of character. Knowing your
credit score also helps protect you against identity theft.
You can get your credit report from a variety of sources. We firstly
recommend you try
http://www.mycreditfile.com.au/
For $27.00 including GST they will dispatch a copy of your credit file to
you within on
e working day via email, fax or mail. If you have a little
more time you can review the availability of their free service. Read your report carefully, making a note of anything you do not understand.
If accounts are identified by code number, or if there is a creditor listed on
the report that you do not recognize, ask the credit bureau to supply you with
the name and location of the creditor so you can ascertain if you do indeed hold
an account with that creditor.
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