News : Cheap Credit Cards

Date : June 17, 2008

As the economy continues to go down, you may want to consider making a big purchase. But if you don't have good credit, the economy is not going to affect your interest rate at all. So how do you know if you're credit is good? You need to know your credit score.

We've all got one, a number ranging somewhere in between 350 and 850, and the higher it is, the less you're going to pay when it comes to buying something on credit.

Sarah Scheuermann says, "You have to have good credit to buy a house and get loans"

In this tightening credit market, not taking action to improve your credit score can spell disaster for consumers trying to get credit or take out a loan.

According to a recent survey, 70 percent of Americans think their credit score is good, but half don't know the score.

"I don't have any loans... I have a credit card and I pay it regularly so I think that would add to it," says Scheuermann about her credit score.

So this is how it works, it is factored by the number of accounts you have, What type of accounts they are, the number of inquiries; Like the different credit cards and loans you're trying to get, and the balance compared to the limit on your credit cards.

Josh Harris, the Branch Manager at Beehive Credit Union in Idaho Falls says, "The way it works, is if you don't check your credit report very often, it's not going to hurt your report, but if you're checking it on a regular basis it will hurt you."

Some of the things lowering your score are late payments, too much new credit, credit card balances exceeding more than 50 percent of your limit, and too many inquires.

Harris says, "Because the way they look at it is, this person who is checking their report is trying to get into debt, and this makes them a riskier borrower."

Harris says loan officers are here to help, and they will help you look over your credit report, even if you're not a member of beehive credit union.

Source : http://www.localnews8.com/