2. THE IMPORTANCE OF REVIEWING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR CREDIT REPORT

3.  Credit Report – information compiled by a credit bureau from merchants, utility companies, banks, court records, and creditors about your payment history.

4.  The most well-known score is the FICO score developed by Fair Isaac Corporation.

5. The factors use in the FICO score system are shared openly by Fair Isaac Corporation on the company’s website:

6. WHY SHOULD YOU ALWAYS KEEP TRACK OF YOUR CREDIT REPORT ?  Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) – requires that credit reports contain accurate, relevant, and recent information.

7. A GOOD CREDIT HISTORY  Allows lenders decide whether to approve your application for credit but also when you apply for a job, insurance, and rental property.

8. HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR CREDIT REPORT  Three national credit-reporting bureaus” - Experian - TransUnion - Equifax Go online - www.annualcreditreport.com www.annualcreditreport.com - Avoid other websites You can obtain a FREE report every FOUR months - For example: - January – Experian, May – TransUnion, September - Equifax

9. MY FICO SCORE  FICO® Score History As Score Watch® notices changes to your FICO® score, they are listed here.  3/8/2013 761 Score Watch® alert: Your score reached your target of 761.  Score Watch® alert: Your score reached your target of 761.  2/21/2013 749 Score Watch® alert: Your score has gone up. 749  Score Watch® alert: Your score has gone up.  2/17/2013 747 Score Watch® alert: Your score is unchanged. 747

10. References  Forgue, R. & Garman, E. (2010). Personal Finance. Pgs. 178-183.