People often say that a person's reputation and good name are their most valuable assets. Your credit score is tied to your name and follows you wherever you go in North America, whether it's New York, Chicago, Edmonton, Alberta, or Vancouver, Canada. A credit score is like a mirror: it's nice to look at when it's clean, but it's not very useful when it's broken or dirty.
How can you keep your credit score high? All that matters is that you pay your bills on time every time and don't run up debts you can't pay off or miss payments.
Many will say, "It's just one small payment." What does Visa or the car lot where you got your new car or SUV financed care? They have more money than they will ever need, after all. Maybe you can get away with just one excuse, like forgetting to mail the check. But if you do this a second time, your account, name, address, etc. will be flagged. Then you might say, "Well, Christmas is coming up, so MasterCard, the bank, or the finance company won't really notice." Wrong again. You will be flagged again by the system. This time it was worse. The credit system as a whole seems to have tentacles that share information, especially about bad creditors and people who owe money but haven't paid it back on time.
If you usually pay your bills on time, you might not think this is a big deal. But now the system has noticed how often you pay late and when you get a credit. It's like a thousand nosy neighbours are keeping an eye on your house and front door to see if your girlfriend sneaks out late at night. Your bad payment history will be shared with who knows where and how many credit and credit reporting agencies.
The funny thing is that you might never know, so to speak, what is on the other side of the ledger. If you try to get a loan or financing for a second car and are turned down, you usually won't get any other notice or information than that your claim was turned down. Information should be easy to find, at least according to information from the industry. Some say this is propaganda. If the information is that easy to get and can be read by anyone, how much would companies pay to have easy access to it? You could say that credit companies say everyone has the right to look at their file. True, but are you going to tell your boss that you need some time off to look at your credit history because you are having trouble with your personal finances and getting turned down for loans? Talk about a situation in which you lose both your job and your reputation for honour, integrity, and trustworthiness. Almost everything in life comes down to how things work. On the other hand, you can ask for your credit history online through one of the thousands of companies that do this for a fee. First, make sure that the information on your credit history is correct, current, and valid. Some of these sites offer free test probes that you can use for fun. You are what you are, and you aren't what you aren't. Many of these services don't have as good of a name as you do.
No matter what information and credit information you fill out online, you will get the same answers. Most reputable sites will ask for identification and payment by credit card before giving you accurate and useful information about your credit.
As people say, "good luck." Banks, finance companies, and credit card companies will lend money to people who don't need it as much, like those who have a lot of money and good credit. Why would you try to find out why your credit and loan applications were turned down if you had no credit problems? On top of that, your credit card, money, and overdraft at the bank or savings and loan are probably already used up and maxed out.
In this day and age of computers and fast communication, a few simple mistakes with money can turn into a real mess. It's best to do what your grandmother told you, which is to live within your means. Don't spend money you don't have. Cash is always the best way to pay.
