1. Engagement activity - Building a credit history

Your credit history, as recorded by the various credit bureaus, is one of the most important indicators of your overall financial situation. Lenders use your credit history to decide whether to approve your credit application. But your credit history may be used for other purposes as well.

	When you apply for a job, your employer may request your credit history in order to gauge your trustworthiness and reliability.
	Insurance companies may consider the information in your credit history when determining whether to extend insurance to you and at what rates.
	When you submit a rental application for a house or apartment, the rental agency may obtain your credit history before accepting your rental application.

If you do not already have a good credit history, there are several ways that you can begin to build good credit. Complete the following questionnaire to determine whether you have already taken steps to build the foundation for a good credit history. Some questions may not apply to your current financial situation. If so, select Does not apply.

Note: You will be granted a point for any answer you give as there are no right or wrong answers. However, you must answer every question to receive full credit. If none of the offered answer choices is an exact fit, choose the one that most closely reflects your situation or opinion.

Self-Assessment: Building a Credit History	Answer
Do you have both a checking account and a savings account?
Do you have your telephone (or other utilities) billed in your own name?
Do you have (and use) an oil-company credit card?
Do you have at least one bank credit card, make all of your payments on time, and maintain reasonable balances?
Do you currently have, or have you ever had, a cash loan from a bank?
If you have student loans that are currently in repayment, do you make all of your payments on time?