Another Piece of the Puzzle - Credit

A brief summary of previous blogs - go to the archives to review.

We have discussed responsible choices in your purchases - do you NEED it or WANT it for instant gratification.... Values - what are yours ... do you have a list of goals, did you do a top 20 list (things you would like to do before you die, who you will do it with, cost, time frame). This exercise really helps you live a more conscience life, as well as, more meaningful.

Then we went into budget - living within your means and actually under them. Take some money and save for an emergency and for retirement. Give up a few of the fast food meals, video games or as simply as getting water instead of pop while eating out will save you money. These small changes will NOT affect the quality of your life today but will definitely change it LATER.

Student Loans - this is a big concern for most of you. How much to take and repayment. As I always state I am not a fan of debt however if you are getting student loans and maximizing your opportunity at school - you will never make a better investment than in yourself. If you use the above steps - you can limit how much you will need to borrow.

The next very important piece to consider is your CREDIT. You can go to annualcreditreport.com. and get a free credit report every year. There are three credible firms you can get your report from: Experian, Equifax and Transunion. Do not use other free credit sites such as Free credit report - they ultimately aren't free and may not be secure.

Having bad credit will create you many many problems. You do not want to go there. You will have problems trying to rent an apartment or buy a home, purchsing a car, getting into graduate school or obtaining a job, you may have to pay higher interest rates if someone is willing to give you credit (which just continues the problem) and on a personal note may affect your relationships... Do you want to be with someone who isn't responsible and already has a ton of problems?

A great site for information is Credit Abuse Resistance Education to learn additional ways to avoid the pitfalls of bad credit and actionable steps you can utilize everyday to create good financial habits. It takes a second to create bad credit and years to undo.

The next post will discuss what creates bad credit..... You may not even realize you are setting yourself up for a problem.

Stay tuned......