Give Yourself Some Credit Today
If you watch a lot of TV, it might seem like Americans are consumed with their credit scores. Remember the common freecreditreport.com ads? "F-R-E-E. that spells free." Go ahead and check them all out, we'll wait...Of course, if you have actually obtained a car loan or home mortgage lately, then I know you will recognize whether your credit history is in good shape or not.
But what if you haven't needed credit? That's the situation my friend Chris finds himself in. He's a 30-year-old professional who doesn't own a car and, apart from some school loans, hasn't needed to use credit. That's admirable -- no credit card means no credit card debt -- but he knows good credit is essential to his future dreams of owning a home and starting his own business. There's a bit of mystery that sometimes surrounds credit scores, so I first had him find out his exact number. My favorite way to do this…