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Anatomy of a credit scoreOct 11, 2006 | During a shopping spree a few months ago, I opened several retail credit-card accounts to take advantage of an immediate 10% discount on that day's purchases. Surely this familiar offer was risk-free as long as I paid my bills on time, right?
It wasn't until I reported this story that I found out my credit score could have been negatively affected by the spate of new accounts I opened in such a short time. I had no idea.
Many people are ignorant of what their credit score is, how they can hurt or help that score and how it can be used against them. Some 49% of 1,013 consumers polled in a 2005 survey by the Consumer Federation of America and Fair Isaac did not understand that credit scores measure credit risk. Fair Isaac created FICO, the most widely used credit-score formula.
Lenders have used these scores for years to determine whether to grant you a loan and at what interest rate. "Credit scores are very powerful predictors of consumers' future (bill-paying) performance," says Mike Fratantoni, a senior research director at the Mortgage Bankers Association. But with the rise of technology that can automatically assess consumer creditworthiness while you wait, FICO scores now are requested by insurance companies, cell-phone providers, utilities, landlords and even prospective employers. That's a reason to make managing your FICO score a priority. |
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by Aila12
My friend introduced me to CreditScoreDating. Basically I live in an Army hostel for estranged wives and found it really difficult to get a baby sitter to meet people. So I thought I'd give the internet dating thing a go.... more |
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