Before 1970, women had a tough time getting credit on their own. Alimony and child support were not even counted as sources of income. Lenders could actually use a woman's age to deny her credit. But now the law says that everyone must be treated equally when it comes to credit. The Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (FECOA) dictates that lenders cannot deny access to credit based on gender. The reality may be a little different. In this article we will provide five credit tips for women.
Tip #1: Knowledge is power. Women, on average, still make less money than men in this country. And if you make less money, you will get less credit. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. However, if you know that fact, you can take steps to overcome it. Are your family's finances are held in your husband's name? If the credit accounts are all individual accounts linked to your husband, the credit reporting bureaus do not even know you exist - and this is not good. You will have a very tough time getting credit in your own name.
Tip #2: Joint credit may also mean no credit. If you are a married woman who holds financial accounts jointly with her husband, you may not have any credit on your own. Ask any woman who has been divorced about this sad fact. Take the time now to open some accounts in your own name, so you can build your own credit.
Tip #3: Joint credit may mean easier access to your own good credit. If you have had credit problems on your own, but your husband has a great credit rating, you can take advantage of that. You can leverage your good joint credit to build credit in your own name much faster than if you had to build it on your own.
Tip #4: Joint credit may mean a worse credit rating for youcr. The final aspect to the joint credit account is when you have had a great personal edit rating but you created joint accounts when you got married. If your husband does not practice the same financial responsibility that you do, he may drag down your joint credit rating. Think about maintaining separate accounts, just in case a divorce occurs. Sorry, but about 50% of all marriages end in divorce. It makes sense to plan for the future, for better or for worse.
Tip #5: Financial institutions love joint accounts. And anything that a bank or credit card company loves, you should avoid. Creditors like joint accounts because in the event that one partner in a marriage messes up financially, they have two people they can pursue for restitution. One marriage, one credit report, one credit score, but two (possibly financially different) people. If you maintain separate accounts, you will have a "backup" credit history to call on should problems arise.
If you apply these simple tips to your financial life, you may find that you will be treated equally in the world of credit.
credit secrets bible
No comments:
Post a Comment