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Education: articles
Building Good Credit
Open a Checking and Savings Account.
Build a relationship with your Credit Union. Lenders
what to know if you have a checking and savings account.
Not to mention, your Credit Union has the ability to
loan you money.
Apply for Credit. DEPENDING
ON YOUR SPENDING DISCIPLINE, START AT THE APPROPRIATE
LEVEL.
Level 1: Apply for
a share secured loan. A shared secured
loan is borrowing money by pledging the money in your
savings account. The loan proceeds will be available,
but the funds you used to secure the loan from your
savings will be frozen in proportion with the loan
balance until the loan is paid off.
Level 2: Apply for
departmental credit cards or gasoline cards.
These cards are typically easier to get when compared
to VISA or MasterCard and come with more limitations.
Level 3: Take out a
small personal loan from the Credit
Union. All Credit Union loans are reported to the
credit bureaus, which can help you build your credit.
 Don't
go overboard. Having too much activity on your
credit report may hurt your score. For example, opening
and closing numerous credit cards in a short period
of time will actually have a negative affect on your
credit score.
Stay out of Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy
is not very popular in the credit world. Once you declare
bankruptcy, your credit score almost immediately goes
to poor. Now it becomes more difficult for you to qualify
for loans and even if you do, it’s definitely
more expensive. Make sure to stay away from bankruptcy
by:
paying all your bills on time - utilities, rent, car,
credit card, etc.
do not max out your credit limit - keep your debt
manageable.
start saving
Get your Credit Report. Every year
you should review your credit score. It will allow you
to monitor your information and stay up-to-date with
your credit history (for example, if there has been
any unusual items listed on the report). Each year you
are entitled to receive a FREE credit report from each
of these three companies:
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