What Credit Is And What It Means

July 28, 2009 · Print This Article

Your credit is your financial lifeline in this world. It tells the tale of how you have managed your money in the past, and financial institutions use it to foretell how you will handle your money in the future.

It can affect your ability to buy a car, a house, and what kind of mortgage rates you get. Your credit has a major impact on your life so the more you understand about it the better.

What Makes Up Your Credit Score?

A credit bureau collects information about your financial history. This information comes from your payment habits with banks, finance companies, credit unions, and retailers. It is basically made up of your credit history.

This includes information such as when you opened each account, the credit limit or amount of the loan, your current balance, and your monthly payment. This report also includes all of the more negative aspects of your credit history which could include bankruptcies, payments that were late, and liens. This information is collected into a comprehensive report that is then accessible to both creditors and lenders.

What Your Credit Score Means To You

Everyone knows that having good credit is important. There are many times in life when your credit score will affect what you are able to do financially. If you do have a good credit rating then lenders will look upon you more favorably.

Because you have a history of paying off your debts and doing so on time, you are seen as someone who is not a risky investment. Lenders want people who are going to pay back loans so a good credit score means that you would most likely fall into this category.

Your credit score can directly affect your mortgage rates. A higher credit score will mean that you will get lower mortgage rates and lower payments while a lower credit score means that you will be paying more for higher mortgage rates. If your score is extremely low then you may even be denied credit.

Is A Low Credit Score The End Of The World?

Low credit is not the end of the world, but you want to do everything you can to keep your credit score as high as you can. You will end up paying more if you let your score get low. There are special loans for those with extremely low credit, but this is not the most desirable route. You want to keep your credit score high.

To maintain your credit score, you need to know what it is. This is why it is imperative that you check your credit score on a regular basis. By checking your credit report even once a year, you can be aware of what your credit is and you can check for any mistakes on your credit report. You never know when some sort of error could occur on your credit report, and you do not want to find out about it when you are applying for a home loan. Regular checks avoid uncomfortable situations.

Knowing what credit is and what that means for you helps you to understand the importance of maintaining good credit. It also helps you to understand just how you can maintain that good credit and how important it is that you check up on your credit score. Low credit is not the end of the world, but good credit helps guarantee smooth sailing.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks


Related Articles

Comments

34 Responses to “What Credit Is And What It Means”

  1. Gordon's Credit Report on July 29th, 2009 12:21 pm

    Understanding about credit is always beneficial, as credit makes or breaks your financial future.

  2. gabrisse delie on July 31st, 2010 10:28 am

    intel i3 processor, 8OO, blackhawk community credit union, cghvwz, vanity fair panties, %-)), tv stands, 10637, deer fence, ihich, chicken piccata recipe, >:-[, vinessa shaw nude, yfnhv, free xxx gallery, rsiwy, sister masterbating, nilic, mount desert islander, 8-O,

  3. akhaw on July 31st, 2010 4:57 pm

    Update: Understanding and Improving Your Credit Report and Scores

  4. speecek cepero on August 2nd, 2010 6:28 pm

    Checking Your Credit Report: In today's world, one's credit score is an integral part of their everyday life. Your…

  5. laug kopf on August 3rd, 2010 7:09 pm

    Yes, the notation is correct…but it's not a black mark against you…it just shows what happened with the status of the account.

    That is not factored into your score in any way.

    That is the common notation on credit reports, when a card is cancelled due to being lost/stolen.

  6. henknold elangins on August 5th, 2010 9:01 am

    Fix Your Credit Score In 30 Days This is a problem that many people face; they do all of these things that negatively affect their credit score, and then when they notice that it is so low, they frantically look for ways to raise it. This may seem like a protagonist thing to do, but there are ways to do this in 30 days. Unfortunately these tips cannot work miracles, and will not bring your credit score from 300 to 700 in a mere 30 days; however, if you follow them vigorously you will have no pr…

  7. angle on August 5th, 2010 11:13 am

    Here's the link to the one you want:

  8. lorelliebe faddock on August 6th, 2010 1:40 pm

    Consumer borrowing falls in June for fifth straight month as credit card use declines again

    read more

  9. kobi on August 7th, 2010 5:06 pm

    This premium, heart shaped molded plastic credit card sized container is small enough to be carried in any pocket or purse. These refreshing mints are a great value and fun gift for your guests. The containers are cleverly designed with a corner lid that flips open to provide access to the mints. Further personalize your gifts with your names and event date along with your choice of one of our premium designs from our extensive design library. You are sure to find a design that perfectly complements your event theme and style. Mints are sugar free. Size 3 Diameter

  10. reau on August 8th, 2010 10:39 am

    [Blog] Will Credit Card Debt Settlement Hurt Credit Score?: by SqueakyMarmot

    Will Credit Card Debt Settlement Hu… http://www.selkblog.c

  11. gare on August 8th, 2010 6:20 pm

    Keep what you have. The most important thing is to pay the bills before they are due. Also keep the balances on the CC's low or better yet pay them off every month.

  12. noorjahr urg on August 9th, 2010 9:53 pm

    yo mama

  13. phoellandr on August 12th, 2010 1:46 pm

    wow !! when i raise my credit i’m going to hit that

  14. ucarley cheatt on August 14th, 2010 6:58 am

    446 AND NEVER BEEN HAPPIER

  15. bompp on August 17th, 2010 1:54 pm

    Credit unions pay higher interest on your money that alone is enough to switch.

  16. dyne dieko on August 18th, 2010 3:42 am

    Usually 620 is the threashold for a new credit "rank". I would wait a while longer and stay current on your other stuff to beef up your score. Also the higher your score the less you pay in interest for most lenders.

    Remember the key to good credit is Time since delinquency, Lenght of time having open credit, (older cc's are better than new ones) and the most most neglected key is ratio of credit used vs credit available.

    A person is better to have (only for credit reporting purposes don't get me wrong debt isn't good) 1000 in debt with 5000 available vs a person with only 100 in debt with 250 available.

  17. fer on August 18th, 2010 7:36 am

    But there is a way you can get that car sooneraby taking out a loan. … The Good and the Bad. Before you can decide whether credit is a good choice for you, it’s …
    Filename : Unit4.pdf
    Fullpath : /Content/Files/Student Outreach/Unit4.pdf
    Publisher : calcpa.org
    Found at Wednesday, 18 Aug 2010 GMT
    Further searches : content files student outreach unit4 pdf or good debt bad debt credit wisely or site:calcpa.org

  18. darellaend mugla on August 19th, 2010 3:06 pm

    7 Steps that can Help You Increase Your Credit Score

  19. breavejo on August 21st, 2010 6:42 pm

    Miley Cyrus Icon.Credit If Using

  20. willadoli on August 22nd, 2010 7:21 pm

    Article by at 2010-08-22 21:18:14
    Categorized in mortgage finance,

  21. land corrow on August 24th, 2010 2:13 am

    Checking Your Credit Report

  22. gillermeuf on August 25th, 2010 7:12 am

    what ever happened to the pointy shoes and green tights

  23. oram hennicki on August 26th, 2010 3:29 pm

    I hadn't used it this year. I'll use it again next year. My credit score is really high.

  24. spoons on August 28th, 2010 10:22 pm

    omg i love these comercials me and my friends laugh at them all the time

  25. harner dev on August 31st, 2010 5:18 pm

    I have 6 credit cards ( 5 of them have been store credit cards) with balances which we will shortly compensate off to a change of 0. we listen to which canceling credit cards even if they have 0 balances (I live in a U.S) upon them HURTS your credit sc…

  26. tionger on September 1st, 2010 12:07 am

    JEEP: 1999 Jeep Wrangler (atlanta ) $2995:

    We Finance Everyone Regardless of Credit!

    … #carsatlanta

  27. bland stivetill on September 1st, 2010 2:31 am

    I recently applied for a corporate American Express card through work and they told me that they found an old written-off debt from 1990 under my name. How best should I handle this? So, I got the corporate card (with a little rule-bending). I called their “special investigations department”. The debt is for about $700 and is for charges that occurred between 1987 and 1990. This doesn’t show anywhere on my credit report. When I asked AmEx to provide documentation that the debt was, in fact, mine, they said that they couldn’t provide me with anything, and they couldn’t prove that it was mine. Nor could that prove that it wasn’t. They have nothing to send me, no records, no receipts, no old statements. Nada. Only a record of a debt for $700 linked to my social security number. They’ve never sued, or attempted to collect as far as I know, and like I said, my credit reports show nothing (not even an account from Amex from back then). As far as I can tell, the only time that this will…

  28. spal on September 2nd, 2010 2:19 am

    You can't get it removed unless you can prove that it's wrong. The only way to fix your credit record is to build a long-term record of paying on time.

  29. staeta krustemstr on September 2nd, 2010 3:07 pm

    Yeah, the 6th commercial came out after I made this video. I have the sixth one on my channel. PLEASE NO MORE COMMENTS ABOUT THAT!!

  30. markes on September 3rd, 2010 8:40 am

    As the world?s largest independent, third party transaction processor and merchant acquiring processor, our client provides financial institutions with tailored solutions for in-house or outsourced issuer and acquirer transaction processing. They are….

  31. lux on September 3rd, 2010 9:10 pm

    Borrowers with credit scores less than 500 are not eligible for Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage financing, according to the new credit score and loan-to-value (LTV) requirements released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  32. gin bon on September 4th, 2010 4:20 am

    Not everyone has a perfect credit score. This could be due to a number of factors. Why should these people be punished for a bad number that is supposed to represent them? Many lenders are asking the same question and believe that they can help. Having a bad credit score used to mean you were unable to buy a

  33. rueson on September 4th, 2010 7:03 pm

    lol just noticed 0:18 the bubble is coming from his dick ROFL

  34. bue brungritek on September 6th, 2010 8:21 am

    lol read the damn fine print. its not there to look pretty

Got something to say?