How Healthy Is Your Credit?

Stay Up to Date with Your 3 Credit Bureau Credit Report

Getting your 3 credit bureau credit report is the only way to know exactly where you stand when it comes to your credit history. Getting a report from all 3 bureaus will ensure that you are able to account for everything a potential lender, employer or landlord will see before they make a decision. Nowadays everyone is using credit reports to help screen potential employees, renters and of course borrowers. Having negative entries on any of your 3 credit reports can have a huge impact on your life including where you work, where you live, what you drive, whether or not you can get a loan to go to school and more.

Why are my Credit Reports so Important Anyway?

Your 3 credit bureau credit reports contain important information regarding your credit history such as payments made, accounts in collections, how much debt you have, how much credit you have access to and more. Lenders use this information to help determine how much of a risk you may be when extending credit to you.

A few things lenders consider before approving you for any kind of credit:

Payment History - Late payments (30 days or more) will have huge negative impact on your credit report. Lenders like to see people always paying on time.
Bankruptcy - If you declare bankruptcy it will be on your credit report for up to 10 years.
Accounts in Collections - If you’ve ever defaulted on a loan or credit card odds are the account went to collections. Collection agencies also report to the credit bureaus and expect regular payments.
Length of History - The sooner you start building your credit history the better. The more good history you have the higher your credit score will be.
Debt & Credit Limits - Part of your credit score is determined by how much debt you currently have compared to have much credit you have available on all open accounts. Lowering your debt to credit ratio will help raise your score.
Hard Inquiries - Any inquiry made to your credit report which you have given written permission for is known as a hard inquiry. These can potentially lower your credit score so they should be avoided if possible.
Number of Accounts - The more open accounts you have the worse off you’ll be. It’s best to stick to as few credit accounts as possible while always maintaining at least 1 or 2 to help build your credit history.

What Credit Bureaus Should I be Getting a Credit Report From?

The 3 major credit reporting bureaus in the United States are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Your 3 credit bureau credit report will contain a current copy of your credit report from all 3 bureaus. Because each bureau collects data independently you may find small differences from one report to another. If you should find any inaccurate information on any of your credit reports it’s important to dispute it immediately with the credit bureau that is reporting the inaccurate information.

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