credit report - Top 5 Things You Thought You Knew About Credit

We all hear the stories of how to make our credit score go up but really are you sure of. In this article I hope to clear up some of the misconceptions that we hear every day. There are so many stories that you hear from your friends and families that are suppose to help you with your credit scores. So many of these are myths and I would like to dispel them. There are many dos and don'ts to improving your credit scores. 1. As Long As You Keep Checking Your Credit Your Score Will Drop There are two types of credit inquiries. The first is a soft inquiry which is done by yourself when you check your credit. This will not harm your credit score. Then there is hard inquiries which is done by a creditor and will usually bring down your score a few points. Now if your shopping around for let's say a car and you do a number of credit inquiries in a short period of time then these will usually be grouped into a small category so that you don't lose a whole pile of points off of your score. 2. Will Closing Old Accounts Help Your Credit Score? It is actually better to close newer accounts because they don't have that much credit history on them. If you cancel the old accounts it can actually drop your credit score because it gives the appearance that you have shorter credit. You can ask for your limits to be decreased but you should definitely think twice before closing old accounts. 3. Paying Off Bad Debts Will Remove Them From Your Credit Report No matter what paying off old debts is always the best thing to do. Your bad debt will not be erased from your credit report for between 7 and 10 years but they will show paid which will help to bring your score up a bit. The best thing for all concerned however is to get the bad debt off of your record which will dramatically bring up your score. 4. If I'm A Co-signer Am I Responsible For The Account Co-signing, joint accounts or becoming an authorized user on someone else's credit card can be very dangerous to your credit score. By doing this you take on legal responsibility for the accounts. Good or bad, all activity on these accounts show up on both people's credit scores. So if you co-sign an auto loan for a friend and they default on the payments it will hurt your credit report as it will theirs. A couple ways to make sure this doesn't happen is to refinance the loan, have your name taken off the account or just keep making the payments. 5. Will Paying Off A Debt Add Points To Your Score? There is no real way to determine how your score will go up. Credit scores are determined on hundreds of different things. To a person with a great credit score just missing one payment could bring their score down several points while a person with bad credit may not be affected as bad. There is no magical way to improve your credit score. It is so easy to wreck your credit score and very difficult to get it back. The best things you could do are make sure you pay your bills on time, reduce your debts and report negative inaccuracies on your credit report. Good financial behaviour and time are the two most important factors on your credit score. Dale Mazurek Dale has had to make the long journey back from bad credit. He is the owner of the website http://stcajo.ecreditdirectory.com which can get you fitted to the best credit cards for your needs. He is also the owner of two very popular blogs which can be seen at http://creditneeds.blogspot.com/ and http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dale_Mazurek credit report - After Bankruptcy Credit Repair One may be tempted to sit back and do nothing about an after bankruptcy credit repair because the argument is that the bankruptcy stays on one's file anyway for ten years. What's the point then of carrying out an after bankruptcy credit repair? That kind of nonchalant or indifferent attitude may even get you in deeper trouble. Usually, someone who is proactive and cares about his financial rating is going to do something to his advantage right on day 1. Why? To re-establish credibility of course. To mend whatever is broken, and to maintain good relations with your bankers, creditors and anyone who is in the most subtle position to influence how your financial picture will look like from now on. An after bankruptcy credit repair is therefore intelligent planning on your part. And the sooner you do it, the better it is for your credit score. It may be a slow, excruciating process, but with time, people will realize you mean business and are doing everything to get back on your feet. After all bankruptcy is no longer the rare disease it once was. Your next door neighbor could have filed for bankruptcy and your gym coach may have done the same thing. After bankruptcy credit repair: something beyond your capability? Since bankruptcy is considered somewhat of a drastic move in the money scheme of things, and a bit of a complicated issue involving a set of dynamics different from a straightforward credit repair matter, you may consider a lawyer-assisted credit repair. He may be able to guide you on what steps you can take when the bankruptcy is put on your record and resides there for the next 7-10 years. Or his partner may know of a credit lead repair that many people still do not know about. Before you rush over to your lawyer's office, however, you may wish to make a pit stop at the credit bureau and see if you could obtain a copy of your latest credit report. You are allowed one free credit report per year - that's the law - and if you note some discrepancies, you may want to discuss these with your lawyer. After bankruptcy credit repair is like waking up the next morning after a hideous nightmare. But the idea is to keep moving, facing front, not back. Start by making timely payments on all debt, temper your credit card use, and consolidate all debt. Speak to your creditors - yes - even after you've filed for bankruptcy. Who knows, once they see that you're diligently doing after bankruptcy credit repair, they might be more predisposed to removing negative information from your file. The above are just a few of the ways that prove you're making an effort for after bankruptcy credit repair.