Crucially important - ck your credit report now!!!

[kathkeane]

This is possibly the most important thing you will do this year. If you do not know your credit score, whether you think you need credit or not, please google on free credit score and go to the annual credit score site and CHECK YOUR CREDIT!! All 3 companies. I cannot stress how important this is. DO it today.

Because:
1. Mistakes are made FREQUENTLY. Don't tell me you don't need to know....when a crisis occurs that you were not expecting -- it can take months to correct mistakes....and you need to do that before the crisis. There are gazillions of credit files and they are often shipped overseas for maintainance -- I can almost guarantee you that there are mistakes on yours and you need to see that your credit report is in tip-top shape just in case.

2. Once you get all 3 credit reports, look them over very carefully for any errors. If there are any errors, there are a few ways to correct them. The easiest is over the internet. You can dispute each and every entry and that will require the company that submited that entry to verify its truth. If they don't verify it within 30 days - -guess what? It has to come off your report -- you can do this for free and it will effect your credit score. YAHOO

Each state has different credit reporting laws -- but for the most part it is 5 years FROM THE DATE OF THE DELINQUENCY. That means -- that they cannot keep reporting something just because you paid 50 bucks 2 years later -- it is from the date that the bill went delinquent - usually 90 days or so from the original date of the debt.

3. Credit scores are used for employment, for car insurance rating, for life insurance ratings, etc. Just because you are not buying anything right this minute does not mean you don't need to know that your credit report is in perfect shape.

Please, please, please do it now. The difference in your credit score could mean thousands of dollars difference in whatever you finance. Today it could mean NOT getting financed. As the economy tightens -- you might be turned down everywhere for a loan with a bad credit score -- and remember -- it takes time to straighten out a mess if you have never even seen your credit score.

Okay -- at least I tried to warn you.

[zoeys_mom]

Actually according to the fair credit reporting act they can stay on your report for 7 years.