ReTRo HouSeWiFe

CREDIT INFORMATION FOR HOUSEWIVES

OK, so you and your husband have made the decision for you to stay home and be a Retro Housewife, (or Lady Who Lunches or Homemaker or Stay-at-Home-Mom or Work-at-Home-Mom/Wife or Whatever Floats Your Boat)! Does that mean we are going to ignore the matter of our own personal credit rating and credit score and just be Mrs.?

Of course not!

That would be stupid, and we are not stupid! Even if such matters bore us more than baseball game reruns, a responsible Retro Housewife tracks and maintains her credit rating! There are many, many reasons why to do this so I will only discuss the biggies here!

Identity Theft and You

No, NOT the latest thing in pop psychology to come out of Esalen! Nothing that esoteric, unfortunately. The Identity theft I am referring to is the one where other people spend your money FOR you without your knowledge or permission, by pretending to be you! This is a Very, Very bad thing!

One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is to monitor your credit history. Now you can do that for free. Thanks to a new federal law, consumers can get one free credit report a year from each of the  consumer credit reporting agencies (also called credit bureaus) Those bureaus are:

1. Equifax
2. Experian
3. Transunion

These credit bureaus compile credit histories on consumers. Your credit history contains information from financial institutions (banks, savings & loans, and mortgage), utilities, landlords, insurers and others. The credit bureaus provide information on you to potential credit granters, insurers, landlords, and employers.

The free credit report is available on www.annualcreditreport.com which is a site sponsored by the three credit bureaus. This site will provide you with the actual free report, and not a "free" report that is really part of a trial of a pay for service report. The free reports do not provide you with your credit score, but they do tell you the important elements that factor into your credit score. If you need to know your current score, don't use up your free credit report, instead, choose a service that will give you your report with the (paid for) score as a package. Here are some options for this:

• Privacy Matters - Free 7 day trial of Privacy Matters by a company called "Adaptive Marketing". Included are the FREE 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Credit Score. Here is how it works!
  1. Sign up for the Privacy Matters special offer (Click here to do this).
  2. They require that you give them a credit card, and will make a refundable $1.00 charge (to see if the credit card is good).
  3. Your free trial lasts 7 days. After 7 days, you will get charged $29.95 per month for their credit monitoring service, unless you cancel.
  4. TO CANCEL: Call toll-free at 1-877-993-6264 to cancel during your free trial period and you will not be charged the monthly fee. You don't have to cancel, of course, it is a useful service to have, especially if you are planning a major purchase (house/car) and need to have your credit in order. I just like to have the option, and to make sure I know what I am getting myself into!

 Important To Know!

You have the right to get a free copy of your credit history in several situations:

1. If a company denies you credit or makes another adverse decision based on your credit history;
2. If you’re unemployed;
3. If you’re on welfare; and
4. If your report is inaccurate because of fraud.
5. You also have the right to one free copy of your report from each of the credit bureaus every year.

The 3 Big Credit Bureaus

1. Equifax
2. Experian
3. Transunion

If Shelby Lynne thinks she's got an Identity Crisis now, she should see what happens if she doesn't safeguard her personal information and monitor her credit!
 

Credit Reports Aren't Just For Breakfast Anymore!

Say What?

OK ... I can see the landlord needing your credit report, but your health insurance company? People with bad credit don't deserve health insurance? Or a job? How can you fix your credit without an income?

If you find yourself in this position, get a lawyer! There are lawyers who specialize in just this sort of thing.  For example try Lexington Law - They will deal with the credit agencies for you which can be one of the most frustrating experiences ever! Just getting a live person on the phone can be an entire day's work...(personal experience that gave me at least 5 gray hairs).