VB-Personal Finance Lesson 9-10 Review

Credit history includes:

• Library fines

• Savings and credit card accounts

• Being a good friend

• Only positive items, regardless of your borrowing past

A savings account:

• Is no use in developing a credit history

• Should have your correct Social Security Number attached so that it helps you credit history

• Can be used to write checks and is a credit account

• Can only be opened once you are 18 years old

A regular paycheck helps your credit score because:

• It can be cashed and spent quickly

• It has taxes pulled out

• It shows you will not pay your bills on time

• It indicates you are likely a good credit risk

Negative items on a credit report that are not correct:

• Can never be removed

• Don't affect your credit rating

• Are best ignored

• Should be removed once the mistake is shown to the credit reporting company

Your credit history tells:

• The history of your saving, borrowing, and repayment performance

• The history of your grade report cards

• The history of the formation of the Experian and Equifax companies

• The history of your parents' saving, borrowing, and repayment performance

An installment loan is:

• A credit card paid off right away

• A loan paid off in a certain amount of time, in installments, or equal payments

• When an item is paid for before it is picked up

• Always a positive item on a credit report, even if it was not paid off

Your FICO score:

• Does not depend on your payment history

• Is better if you have not held credit accounts for very long

• Depends most on the amounts you owe and your payment history

• Depends most on new account information

You can order a copy of your credit report:

• Free online from www.annualcreditreport.com once a year from each of the credit reporting companies

• Free online from the Fair Isaac Corporation

• Only if you have good credit because this service is not available if you are a poor risk

• Only if you are applying for a credit card

To build up a good credit history, you should:

• Get a Social Security Number if you do not already have one

• Get as many credit cards as you can

• Keep a balance near the maximum on each credit card to show full utilization.

• All of these

It is important for goals to have accomplishment dates because:

• It is easy to put off long term goals and a deadline keeps you focused

• You will want to compare your success to other peoples' successes

• Bonus money always comes with meeting personal goals

• Career goals are based on interests and aptitudes