What You Need To Know About Your Credit Report

Your credit report is a very important document. In fact, the information contained on your credit report will help determine whether or not you qualify for loans and, if you do qualify, it will help the lending institution determine how much interest you will have to pay on your loan.

In addition to being used to help with determining loan eligibility, your credit report can also have an impact on the car insurance rates that you pay. Many car insurance companies believe that there is a direct correlation between a person’s credit and their level of responsibility while on the road. Therefore, if you have poor credit, the car insurance company assumes that you are a greater risk and your insurance premiums go up.

Your credit report can also have an effect on whether or not you are hired for a new job. This is particularly true of jobs where you are to be entrusted with valuable items or with money. Companies that look at credit reports before hiring do so because they believe employees with poor credit or employees that are in a substantial amount of debt are more likely to steal from the company.

Fortunately, you do have a certain amount of control over your credit report. By being responsible with your finances and paying your bills on time each month, your credit report will look much better. In addition, be sure to use your credit cards frequently and to pay them off at the end of each billing cycle. This will help you build credit history while still avoiding the high finance charges associated with credit cards.

Finally, order a free credit report once per year. The government has determined that all consumers are entitled to free annual credit reports – and you don’t have to sign up with a club or other organization to do so.