Fixing your credit

 The June 2004 study by the consumer advocacy group, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), revealed that as many as 79% of credit reports have errors – 25% of which are serious enough to potentially result in a credit denial. More than half of the reports had information that was either outdated or belonged to someone else.

Why is Your Credit Score Important?

At this point in time, you better consider the wellbeing of your credit score as the lifeblood of your current and future financial stability—and that's no exaggeration on anyone's part. There are many reasons why you need to keep track of your credit score, and among them is the fact that about 85% of all credit bureaus have misinformation in them.

These errors are unfortunate because credit reports tell a story of a person's life in regards to his finances. Therefore, to have embellishments on your credit report—to get multiple inquiries for it or to get false charges in it—will definitely affect your ability to get loans in the future. Moreover, fixing this problem requires expertise in credit legalese that the average person simply does not have.

Plainly put, when you get in trouble in the law, you go to a law firm to get a lawyer to help you. In turn, when you get in trouble with your credit score, you go to a credit repair company to get a financial expert to help you. Fixing your credit score is a bit too important and complicated for you not to leave it in the hands of a professional.

Keeping Away From the Frauds

You shouldn't just hire just any company to do the tasks of obtaining and maintaining a high credit score for your sake. Also, you need to avoid fly-by-night credit repair companies or risk wasting your money on the pipe dream of getting your credit history cleared of erroneous or detrimental debt and unpaid loans that you never even applied for.

As such, check the testimonials found in a credit repair company. Moreover, be wary of companies that "over-promise." Understand that even the best credit repair companies can probably remove only about 90%-95% of "bad" credit on your report. Finally, don't expect this service to be cheap. The rewards and the money you'll spend in the long run are more important than availing of a, say, $300 credit repair service that does absolutely nothing to your credit rating.

Tips for Getting and Maintaining a Good Credit Score

Pay your bills in that thirty day period. Cash flow, understandably, is very crucial in a lot of households. It's a safe bet that you'll have fewer credit troubles by eliminating the possibility of a late payment, barring of course the occurrence of identity theft. A late payment is one of the most avoidable pitfalls of a bad credit score, and it incidentally hurts your score the most as well.

Don't go out and buy more than you can handle. Always take into consideration the fine print, the interest rate, the payment, and all the other miscellaneous fees and headaches that you'll go through before making your purchase.

Really decide if you'll get a deal before you go to worry about financing it. Don't be so irresponsible as to cosign willy-nilly on various loans you're not responsible for, and don't overstep your boundaries when it comes to deciding if a deal is worthwhile. If you don't need it or can't afford it, then avoid it altogether.

Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft

Pull your credit report regularly. You have to check your credit every so often. If you're already with a competent credit repair company, you'll be consistently inspecting it with them anyway for any errors and suspicious loans.

Don't give your social security number out to anybody. This is self-explanatory, but to elaborate, it doesn't pay to be naive during these days of economical turmoil. Play it safe, and keep your private information to yourself.

Add a fraud alert. A fraud alert is your best friend when it comes to identity theft protection. You can apply to the credit bureaus for a fraud alert so that if someone else is pulling your credit without your authorization, you'll be immediately notified by the bank for confirmation before it even goes through.