visit the doctor. The same applies to financial health. If you’re considering a big purchase—a home, a car—it’s a good idea to look at your credit report. If it’s in good shape, you'll feel confident. If there are inaccuracies, you’ll have time to get them resolved—before they cause you problems. A credit report lists your name, address, Social Security number, birthdate, bill payment history and companies which have requested your credit file. Also included are public record details such as whether you have filed for bankruptcy or have a judgmentorlien. Information in the report comes from yourcreditors or court houses. Credit reporting agencies compile the information for businesses with authorized access to your credit report. They determine whether to grant you credit, insurance or employment. Information in credit reports is also used to determine yourcredit score. The scores are a snapshot of your credit risk. The higher your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved for loans and receive favorable rates. Though there are several factors that go into a credit score, such as credit card balances and loans in relation to credit limits, the timely payment of yourbills is the single most important factor in determiningthat credit score. “The credit reporting system in the U.S. is the envy of the world. Nowhereelse can citizens buy a car over their lunch houror pre-qualify for a mortgage on the phonein less than an hour,” said John Ford, Equifax chief privacy officer. “Without such a system, can you imagine how much time and energy you Keeping track of activity in your credit report is key to financial stability. would spend trying to convince a credit grantor youre creditworthy?” Check yourcredit report at least twice a year. This is important information that creditors are reviewing about you; you should know what they know. The reports are not static, new information is addedall the time. More important, it’s to protect yourself against identity theft, where someone fraudulently uses your personal information to establish credit, purchase goods and services with yourcredit cards, apply for new credit cards in your nameor commit other crimes. To get started, contact Equifax for a copy of your credit report. Or subscribe to Equifax’s Credit Watch credit report monitoring service that alerts you to any new activity on your report. Visit www.equifax com, write Equifax, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374 or call (800) 685-1111.
