Financial Urban Legends: The Credit Boogie Man

It's raining...Its thundering. The lightening is castingWhat I suggest to my clients is a double sided
your shadow against the wall as it flashes in theattack. As you try to get negative marks
night sky. You look under the bed...nothing. Youremoved from your file, you also should be taking
cut the bathroom light on...nothing. You cut it backsteps to add positive marks to your file. This
off. Only one other place left to look, and that'screates a synergy effect, boosting your score
the closet. You begin to walk slowly to the closet.faster than what could be done by each tactic
Oddly, you hear that eerie horror music in yourseparately.
mind, not remembering leaving the door crackedStart with the easy accounts. Look for entries
like it is.that are not even yours, these should be very
Your heart starts racing. Your brow begins toeasy to remove from your file. Next, look for
perspire with beads of sweat. You reach to grabitems that have been paid (or maybe still not
the door knob, with a twist and pull itpaid) and they're seven years older or more. The
open...nothing! Whew! Your pulse slows to itsseven year period begins 180 days after account
normal pace. You laugh to yourself, thinking howgoes into default (post 97 law changes) or last
silly you were acting. Its a little chilly, so you grabdate of activity. This can be tricky.
your jacket from a hanger. Wait...something isThis is 2006, so anything from 1999 and back
wrong.would be good candidates to attack. But what if
You feel the inside pocket and there are severalyou made a payment (but not total amount) in
envelops. Spreading the envelops over the bed,2004, and then stopped paying again. This would
chill bumps begin to erupt all over your body. Itmake your seven years begin over from 2004
can't be. Its not possible. The mortgage payment.instead of 1999
The car note. All the utilities. Water, gas, and lightNow, lets start adding positive trade lines to your
bills...all there. How?! You know without a doubtcredit file. Don't have a lot of money, then you'll
that you put these in the mail weeks ago. A quicklove this strategy. Get several loans from
glance at the calender and your chill bumps doubledifferent lending institutions. Depending on the
in number. All are now OVER 30 DAYS late!amount of funds you have access to use for this
"Ha...ha...ha!" Then again even louder, "HA...HA...HA!"strategy, banks may be not be an available
As you run to the window, you catch a faintavenue. Here's the easiest way to handle this
glimpse of something fading into the rainy night insituation. Obtain a passbook savings account loan.
the yard. Snow has more color to it than yourHere's where it gets interesting. Most banks won't
skin does at this point. The night wind echoes onedo this unless you have $10k or more in your
final message. "Your...(your...your)saving account. Wow! A better solution are credit
Score...(score..score) Shall...(shall...shall) FALL...(fall...fall).unions. This is what I have done before and still
This is what most likely happened.do on occasion. Call your credit union (or one you'll
You had that jacket on three or four weeks agojoin) and ask them about their savings account
meaning to drop the bills in the mail, but forgot.secured loans. Most will allow you to make yearly
Just like children have their 'my dog ate mypayments, meaning you don't have to make
homework' story, we adults have our 'Creditpayments during the course of the loan. If that
Boogie Man' urban legends. The 'Credit Boogie'isn't good enough, you can renew the loan for
man didn't damage your credit score, you did. Butanother year by simply paying the INTEREST
not to worry, there is always time to changeONLY that's due.
your perception on the proper use of credit.This is what you can do to fund the loan. When
First you need to obtain a copy of all three ofyou get paid, go by the credit union and place (or
your credit scores and reports. MyFico(.com)open an account) your cashed check money into
handles scores and reports for Eqifax.the account. Then turn right around fill out the
CreditExpert(.com) handles reports and scores forloan paperwork and have your funds back in you
Experian. TransUnion uses TrueCredit(.com) ashands. Now, just rinse and repeat these steps
their site to get your report and score. And yes,with several credit unions. My credit report shows
I'm aware that you can get a copy of each ofthese accounts as 'paid as agreed'. What else
your reports from each bureau free fromcould it show. I don't make any payments,
AnnualCreditReport(.com), but most people don'ttherefore there's no way to be 30 (or more)
know that your score is not free. You will stilldays late.
have to go through one of the sites I listedYou must prepare yourself. Who knows? Maybe
above to get your scores (did you really think itnext time the 'Credit Boogie Man' won't be able to
would be that easy).cause so much drama in your life.