Great Reasons to Check Your Credit Report Regularly

You need to know what your creditors know. A credit report provides prospective creditors with a detailed picture of your credit history. Your credit report can influence whether you will receive what you are applying for.

What are Credit Scores?

Information about score ranges. Credit scoring is a statistical assessment of an individual's credit-worthiness based on their credit history and current credit accounts.

Credit Bureaus

A credit bureau is merely a clearinghouse for credit history information. When a consumer applies for credit the potential lender requests a copy of that consumer's credit report. The bureau then assembles the information from public records and from reports sent from past lenders.

Credit Reports

A credit report is the sum of information gathered on your credit history, by a credit reporting agency. This information is then sold to credit grantors, such as banks, lending institutions and credit card companies.

Obtaining Credit

Credit doesn't cease to be an important money management tool as we age. Yet older consumers, particularly older women, often find it difficult to get credit. Often they experience many of the pitfalls listed in this article.