1. Thinking your credit will take care of itself without attention from you!
2. Being careless and wimpy when it comes to paying bills.
3. Turning a blind eye and avoiding the subject to the point of not even knowing what is on your credit report. Get a copy and be sure you know what is there and what needs to be corrected.
4. Believing that mistakes won't happen on your credit report. Fact is that mistakes are fairly common. It's up to you to check your report and fix the mistakes. This can take time so don't wait until you need good credit to worry about cleaning up your report.
5. Thinking that good looks and charm will get you a good rating. Your credit determines the rating your lender will assign and that determines the loan deal you can make.
6. Thinking you can spend more than you can afford. This is the quickest way to ruin your credit. Cut up those cards. Pay off those debts. Don't make any large purchases (like a car) before you need to show good credit.
7. Not seeking professional help when the credit situation gets really bad.
8. Believing that all credit agencies are there to help. Check out the agency before you turn over your financial future. There are some unscrupulous places out there.
Congratulations!
That's the easy part, the basics of consumer credit and how it affects you, the homebuyer. The hard part (controlling your debt) is up to you!
Now answer these questions yourself to make sure you understand this Mini-course! Let's do the Quiz.
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