| Most people who are of an age to care about their | | | | available to you. If you earn more money, you might |
| credit are aware that the three main credit bureaus, | | | | have more available credit, or not. Either way, the |
| Experian, Trans Union and Equifax, maintain credit | | | | score is simply a reflection of what type of credit you |
| reports on them. The bureaus keep track of loans, | | | | have and whether you pay your bills on time. How |
| credit cards and bankruptcies and make note of | | | | much you earn is not part of the equation. |
| whether each consumer pays his or her bills on time. | | | | Canceling a credit card raises your score - Not |
| Most people are also aware that their credit history is | | | | necessarily true. Credit bureaus examine how much of |
| also available in the form of a credit score, which is, in | | | | your available credit you are using. Less is more; the |
| essence, their overall credit worthiness reduced to a | | | | bureaus like to see that you are using as little of your |
| three-digit number. | | | | available credit as possible. If you owe a lot of money |
| Beyond that, many people have, at best, a vague | | | | on credit cards and you cancel an unused account, it |
| understanding about how their financial transactions | | | | may look like you are using a larger portion of your |
| are regarded by the credit bureaus. There are a | | | | available credit. That will actually raise your score! |
| number of myths and misconceptions about credit | | | | Marriage merges credit reports - Your credit report is |
| reports and credit scores and how they are affected | | | | your own. That will not change if you get married. |
| by things people do financially. Here are a few | | | | Jointly borrowed money will show up on both reports |
| examples of these popular misunderstandings: | | | | and will affect both of your scores. And just as |
| A consumer has only one credit score - Not true. Each | | | | marriage doesn't merge the reports, divorce won't |
| bureau keeps track of financial transactions | | | | separate the joint items. If you get divorced and your |
| independently of the others and may have more or | | | | ex doesn't pay on your joint loans, your score will |
| less information to work with than the other bureaus. | | | | decrease. |
| Plus, until recently, each bureau used their own scoring | | | | The process of compiling credit scores is a |
| system. In all likelihood, if a consumer were to contact | | | | complicated one. It's understandable that many people |
| each bureau to obtain his or her credit score, the result | | | | don't entirely understand how the system works. |
| would be three completely different figures. | | | | Perhaps the best way to keep tabs on what is going |
| Your salary affects your credit score - Your score is | | | | on with your own finances is to check your credit |
| simply a reflection of how well you handle the credit | | | | report regularly. |