Time to Take Action

Our credit score is an important part of our lives, yet more often than not, we tend to either ignore it completely or just take it for granted that it is whatever it is. Without taking action to correct a faulty credit score, or by willingly using credit unwisely, we can find ourselves in a big mess financially, and may not get the full benefit of a good credit score.

This post is about how to take action to fix your credit score, and take charge of your financial life. In the previous post about Our Credit Score we found that there are things we can do to get a free credit report from each of the three national credit reporting agencies.

In the second post on Our Credit Score - Where do you stand? we learned about organizing our financial records, and how to put all of our account information into a unified document for ease of use and consolidating our records.

Today, we are going to talk about how to compare our credit report to our spreadsheet and correct problems. The first thing we need to do is validate each claim in your credit report (one report every four months), against your spreadsheet, and update your spreadsheet with any records that need updating, taking note of any accounts you need to update or remove from your credit report.

Once you know what records require action - then take it! Do not hesitate to repair your credit. Each day you delay will reduce your credit score. You have two choices for taking action. You can file a letter to each of the credit agencies, disputing the credit report, item by item, date for date, amount by amount by yourself. This is a good way to go, but my recommendation would be to take advantage of a credit monitoring service like the services provided at myFICO Monitor Your FICO Score & Equifax Credit Report or let a company like Lexington Law help with credit repair services.

Either way you go, take action and protect your name and your credit score. The best defense is diligence.

Where do you stand?

Organization can be a great tool to help improve your financial situation, as well as your credit score. If you know where you stand, you will have a better chance of managing your finances and credit score from this day forward.

Let's get you organized. The information you are about to put together is sensitive, so make sure that you put it in a safe place, encrypt the file if you can, and keep a printed copy for your files.

If there is one thing that I learned from my father, is that one should keep good records. It really does help, not only yourself, but if something were to happen to you, someone else can help pick up the pieces more easily.

Now, get a copy of every statement you get in the mail from your creditors, bank accounts, insurance policies, utility and phone companies and investment accounts.

Open up your favorite spreadsheet program (Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Excel, Works, etc.) and create columns for the following information.

• Account Type (Bank Account, Credit Card, Insurance, Utilities, Investments, etc.)
  
• Creditor Name
• Account Number
• Phone Number
• Web Site Address
• User Id
• Password
• Contact Name (if any)
• Ballance due
• Assets owned

Rename this tab "Accounts"

Now, start filling in rows with the information you have from all of your statements. It is important to keep up on this document at least once a month, and you will always have up to the minute information about your accounts close at hand.

Compare this list, with your credit report. You can compare these two documents to ensure you are safe from credit fraud, identity theft and false info on your credit report.

As Sun Tzu said, "Know yourself, and know your enemy and in one thousand battles, you will always remain victorious."

Our Credit Score

There are lots of scores and statistics that are tracked in the US Economy. Nothing however, is more important than our credit score.

There are number of skills that I have learned from some great advisers over the past few years that I want to share with you to that can help with both your monthly budget and your credit score.

Most of us on the blogosphere have not made it rich yet, keep our day jobs, and have a busy family and social life too, and managing our credit score is typically not in the forefront of our minds, but it is a tool, we should keep in our toolbox of survival skills, which we should maintain and keep sharp for use in a moments notice (if need be).

The first thing I'm going to ask any reader of this blog to do, is to go get a free credit report from http://annualcreditreport.com. There is no catch at this site. You are entitled to one free credit report from each of the three credit score companies each year. My suggestion is to get one from each of the three every four months. Put this task on your calendar, and go get your report.

You are also entitled to a copy of your credit report for free, if you are denied credit or denied a job based on your credit from the credit agency who reported derogatory information to your creditor or potential employer.

Once you have your report in hand, go through it very carefully and slowly. There are alot of important things to check on your credit report, and you want it to be accurate in all details. Current and previous addresses, current and previous employers, marital status, contact information, and yes each and every legitimate credit account you have, both good and bad.

If you have anything that is wrong, you should follow the directions on the credit report for filing a dispute. Once you file a dispute, the credit score company must respond to each claim within 30 days. They will research these claims thoroughly, and let you know if they could do anything about resolving your issues.

This is also a good time to see if you are a victim of identity theft, which I will write about in another post.

[I am not a financial advisor and would recommend you speak to a financial advisor or tax advisor about any information here that might affect your accounts and credit.]