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Get Your Credit Report and Analysis
It is very important to get your credit report and analysis. Why is this important? For one thing, if you're thinking about buying a house or applying for credit for any other big purchase, you'llneed a clean credit report, and it's always best to get your credit report and analysis before your  lender does. This will give you an opportunity to clean up any discrepancies or errors, which arefairly common, and which can throw a monkey wrench in the works if not resolved.Ideally, you should get your credit report and analysis once a year with each of the three credit bureaus:* Equifax – (800) 685-1111, www.equifax.com* Trans Union – (800) 888-4213, www.transunion.com;* Experian (888) 397-3742, www.experian.comYou're entitled by law to get your credit report and analysis for free from each of these threecredit bureaus once a year. You can get all three at once or spread them out over the year. If youget your credit report and analysis more frequently than that, each report will cost no more thanaround $10 and in some states considerably less.If you've been turned down for credit in the last 60 days because of something a lender saw onyour credit report, you can get your credit report and analysis free of charge. Lenders arerequired by law to notify you of this right if they deny you credit.When you get your credit report and analysis, review them carefully to make sure all the loansand credit accounts listed really belong to you, and that all the accounts listed as open areactually current loans or balances. If a loan you've paid off or a credit card that was cancelled isstill listed as open, contact the credit bureau and ask for your credit report to be corrected.
What Is the Range of Possible FICO Credit Scores and What Do They Mean?
FICO credit scores range between 300 and 850. Ratings are as follows:
 
 * Excellent: Over 750* Very Good: 720 or more* Acceptable: 660 to 720* Uncertain: 620 to 660* Risky: less than 620
How Is My FICO Credit Score Calculated?
The formula used to calculate your FICO credit score includes information based on severalfactors:* 35% on your payment history* 30% on the amount you currently owe lenders* 15% on the length of your credit history* 10% on the number of new credit accounts you've opened or applied for (fewer is better)* 10% on the mix of credit accounts you have (mortgages, credit cards, installment loans, etc.)In general, when people talk about “your credit score,” they’re talking about your current FICOscore. But in fact there are three different FICO scores developed by Fair Isaac—one at each of the three main US credit reporting agencies. And these scores have different names.
Will Your Scores Be Different?
FICO credit scores range from about 300 to 850. It’s important to get your credit report andanalysis so you can understand what your FICO score is. Fair Isaac makes the scores asconsistent as possible between the three credit reporting agencies. If your information wereexactly identical at all three credit reporting agencies, your scores from all three would be withina few points of each other. But here’s why your FICO scores may in fact be different at the threec. The way lenders and other businesses report information to the credit reporting agenciessometimes results in different information being in your credit report at the three agencies. Theagencies may also report the same information in different ways. Even small differences in theinformation at the three credit reporting agencies can affect your scores. Since lenders may
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