It’s amazing we do not teach financial literacy in high school. I am told by many older high school teachers that they used to do that, and many home economics teachers said they used to teach people how to budget, balance a check book, pay bills, and sock money away for a rainy day. Nowadays, with “no child left behind” it’s all about reading, literacy, math, and science, that’s what rules the day, and if there is time after all that, then there are elected classes people can take to learn about personal finance and credit. That’s unfortunate.
In fact, personal finance and personal credit is probably more important to someone’s success in life than many of those others, and yes, very important subjects. Perhaps, it’s not necessary to pick or choose rather we should have all, and both. It’s just not right to graduate kids that don’t understand how personal credit works, especially considering that many kids to go on to college graduate with extensive student loans, and credit card debt with an average balance of $10,000. That to me is scary stuff.
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Among the many innovations that emerged after World War II, credit use has become a major factor in our entire economic profile. As a result, your credit rating is the most important factor in determining your credit APR when you apply for any type of credit: credit cards, 0% APR transfer offers as well as mortgage and car loans.
What’s a credit score?
Credit reporting was created more than 100 years ago, when small retail merchants banded together to trade financial information about their customers. These merchant associations formed small credit bureaus, which later consolidated into larger organizations. By the 1960’s, consumers demanded the right to examine their credit reports and amend false or misleading credit information that had been withheld from them. In 1971, Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act, giving consumers the right to view and correct their records, as well as privacy protection as to who had access to these records.
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Credit repair advertisements claim to guarantee a quick fix on your credit report. They promise for a fee (not always disclosed at first) to clean up your credit history so that you can qualify for a new home, car, insurance, a job, or premium credit cards. Before you sign up with one of these companies, you need to know some facts.
The real facts on fixing your credit score
The real truth is that no one can legally remove information on a credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you, the consumer, to request an investigation of information in your file that you dispute as inaccurate or incomplete. There is no charge to you. There are other steps that you can do yourself, without paying a credit repair company, such as:
*You are allowed a free credit report if a company denies you credit, insurance, or employment (if this is a part of your employment application) provided you request a report within 60 days of this denial. (more…)
