Your credit score is your # 1 financial asset. It is the portal for many of the larger financial transactions that you will desire to enter into in your life time. Yet many people do not understand how their day to day decisions affect this asset.

Research the differences between your credit report and your credit score. Look for ways every day that you are affecting your credit score. What are hard inquiries versus soft inquiries?

Go to the website called " How stuff works" and look under the money tab and then look under personal finance and go to credit and debt management which has good information on credit reports and credit scores. There are also many other great sites that will assist you with personal finance questions.

Do any of the following items affect your credit score?

A. -Using all available credit on your credit card (maxing it out).

B. -Extend your cell phone contract.

C. -Bed, Bath and Beyond offers a 10% discount on your purchase if you open a charge account (apply for a credit card).

D. - You pay your mortgage every month on the 15^th even though it is due on the first because of when you get paid. (It is late.)

- You always pay cash. You have no debt.

In an original entry discuss what types of things that impact your credit score that surprised you. Use any of the above listed items or any component piece of what you learned about credit that you did not know.

On a related note: I have copied below an article written last semester after Equifax was hacked about locking your credit. I believe that locking your credit access can play a major role in preventing Identity Threft, the number 1 crime at this time. I have had my credit locked for about 4 years. As I applied for power for my mountain condo, I received a call that they needed me to unlock my credit so they could run my credit check. It took me less than 3 minutes to temporarily lift the lock for 24 hours so they could do what they needed. Good reinforcement for me that Locking It Down works.

Here is the Article:

Lock It Down Today!

Alert! Alert! Equifax has been hacked! The personal credit information of 143 million Americans has been stolen. Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America. It affects the rich and the poor, it can even affect your children. Unfortunately, we usually do not know we are victims until the harm has been done to our credit history, our bank accounts and our good names. You know now, however, that you may be a potential victim. The best protection may be to act before your identity is stolen. The first step is to lock your credit. A security freeze is a voluntary block an individual may place with a credit reporting agency (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) that prevents an identity thief from opening a new account or getting credit in your name. One of the best ways we can protect ourselves is to place a security freeze on each of our three credit reports with the major reporting agencies. This can be done online in less than 2 minutes per site and is free. The agency will have your credit locked down within 24 hours. Due to the high volume of usage on Equifax due to the hacking, the best time of day to freeze your report with them is early in the morning. If you need to unlock your credit to apply for a new credit card, buy a new car or a new home, you just go back to the sites and unlock your credit with a specially designed pin while your requesting company does the credit check. Unlocking your credit also takes just a short window of time. Afterwards, you should relock it. This process is fast and it is free.

The easiest method for putting in place a security freeze is by using the North Carolina Department of Justice website http://www.ncdoj.gov/freefreeze (Links to an external site.) . On this page you will use the online form utilized to lock your credit with each agency. Once you access the form, you must enter your name, address, date of birth, social security number and email. The reporting agencies already have this info. You set up a PIN to allow you access. This must be done three times, one for each site. Afterwards you can sign up for CreditKarma who will tell you they cannot access your credit because it is locked. Then to lift the freeze use the same form from the NC Department of Justice site and enter your PIN and now your credit may be accessed by the person or bank where you need credit. Just be sure to remember to lock it back down afterwards.

The second step is that everyone should check their credit report which is free with each one of the three reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. If you select a different reporting agency every four months, you are assured to pick up a problem (someone stealing your credit) when it is small rather than a major credit casualty. This is done by using the site www.annualcreditreport.com (Links to an external site.) which was established by the Amended Fair Credit Reporting Act. It is free and each agency must provide your report. This is not your credit score. To get the numeric number, you generally will be required to pay a fee. Checking your report assumes that some one has already absconded with your good name, accessed your credit history and probably obtained a credit card or worse in your name.

The third thing you should do to protect your identity is to protect it. Do not give your personal information freely. Always question any site that requires you to give personal info including your passwords. Think before you type. Store your passwords and PINs in a safe place. Regularly change your passwords and be sure they are difficult to detect.

Remember your credit score (credit report) is your Number 1 financial asset and the portal for not only borrowing money but also for jobs and even insurance. Put a Security Freeze in Place Today!