The Motley Fool Money Guide
by Selena Maranjian

Sample Pages

Chapter 2: Credit Cards
and Debt

There are few things as insidious as credit card debt. You can probably take out a car loan for around 9%, but credit cards are eager to charge you twice as much or more for the privilege of borrowing from them. Many people get caught up in the spiral of credit card debt. Once they rack up a lot of debt, the best they can usually manage is paying the interest. If they’re not very disciplined, their debt just keeps rising. Worse still, credit card companies are targeting college kids now. Too many young people graduate from college with a degree, a lumpy futon, and several thousand dollars in credit card debt. Talk about an inauspicious beginning!

12 How can I get a copy of my credit report?

There are three credit-reporting bureaus that keep credit records on us:

Equifax 800-685-1111 www.equifax.com
Experian 888-397-3742 www.experian.com
Transunion 800-888-4213 www.transunion.com

You should be able to contact any or all of them to get a copy of your credit report. Some experts recommend getting all three reports, as some information may have been reported to just one bureau. Last time we checked, you could order a copy of your combined credit report from all three bureaus at www.truelink.com.

In some circumstances, getting a report from one of these bureaus is free — such as if you live in certain states (Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and Vermont, last time we checked), or within 60 days of being denied credit, employment, insurance, or rental housing. Otherwise, it may cost you about $8 per report, or more for a three-in-one combined report.

13 If there are errors on my credit report, what can I do?

You can have them corrected. Somewhere in the report, often at the end, there should be instructions on how to dispute anything that you believe is an error.

14 Is there anything I can do about accurate but negative information?

That information will remain on your report for seven to 10 years (usually seven, but 10 for bankruptcies). You can still lessen the sting of that information, though, by paying your bills on time. Credit issuers tend to give more weight to your recent bill-paying history, so a clean record for the last year or two can make a real difference.

Note: The rest of the chapter is omitted.