Credit Reports and Scores

Credit Report

A credit report is a list of credit and personal information. Your report shows all of the participating entities who have extended or denied you credit, and also show the timeliness of your repayment of debt obligations. Also shown are any adverse financial judgments, collections actions and closed accounts. Payday and Title Loans will show up here too!

Once a year you can get a free copy of your credit report from the three main credit reporting companies Experian, Equifax and TransUnion by logging on to AnnualCreditReport.com, the only web site recommended by the New Mexico Attorney General.

Reasons to get your Credit Report

So that you can find and correct any errors.
Make sure no one else is opening credit in your name.
The first line of defense against identity theft is a careful review of your credit report.

Credit Score

Your credit score is a point award based on the information in the credit report. The basic range of points is standardized, with 300 at the low end and 900 at the high 'credit-worthy' end. A credit score of 650 or higher is generally considered good. The better your credit score the easier it will be to get credit for big items, like cars or houses. A higher score will also qualify you for lower interest rates. It is much easier to maintain good credit score than to rebuild a bad one. Credit scores are sometimes used by employers in deciding who to hire.

Free credit score is available from Credit Karma.

Five Credit Do's

Always pay your bills on time.
Open and maintain a bank account and savings account.
Open one small credit account to establish a credit history.
Use you card for necessary expenses and pay it off every month.

Five Credit Dont's

Don't spend more on credit than you can pay back at the end of the month.
Don't make a habit of opening and closing credit accounts.
Don't let your account balances stay above 35% of maximum.
Don't apply for more credit than you really need.