1. Quizzle’s Credit Reports & Scores
Basics

2. Quizzle’s Credit Reports & Scores
Guidebook
Table of
Contents...
1. Your Credit Reports & Scores
2. How to Build Credit
3. Managing and Protecting Credit
4. Credit Score Facts, Fictions, and Secrets
GET THIS GUIDEBOOK!

3. 1. Your Credit Reports & Scores

4. Understanding Credit Reports
Credit scores are determined by several factors:
1. Payment History: this shows if you pay on time, or if you’ve
been delinquent; also shows bankruptcies and foreclosures
2. Amounts Currently Owed: if you owe a lot of money on
multiple accounts, you’ll be considered a higher risk
3. Length of Credit History: a longer credit history is typically
better than a shorter history
4. New Accounts: opening new lines of credit in a short time can
damage your scores
5. Types of Credit in Use: your scores benefit from diverse lines
of credit

5. Debunking 10 Credit Myths
MYTH #1: Pulling your own credit report will
hurt your score.
MYTH #2: Your income factors into your credit score.
MYTH #3: Closing a credit card account will help
your credit score.
MYTH #4: You only have one credit score creditors
and lenders use to judge credit-
worthiness.
MYTH #5: If you pay bills on time, there’s no need
to check your credit report.

6. Debunking 10 Credit Myths (cont…)
MYTH #6: Paying off a past-due account will remove
that item from your credit report.
MYTH #7: Your checking, savings and investment
accounts impact your credit score.
MYTH #8: Paying cash for everything and having no
credit card debt ensures a good credit score.
MYTH #9: Small debts like unpaid parking tickets
and utility bills don’t affect your credit score.
MYTH #10: Debit cards and pre-paid credit cards can
help you build credit.

7. Disputing Items on Credit
Reports
Credit report errors happen frequently.
So, how do you find and fix them?
1. Inspect, Line-by-Line: Review credit reports and
make note of what you think is wrong. Try to verify
suspect items.
2. Follow the Directions: Read credit bureau dispute
policies. Dispute by phone, fax, mail or online.
Document it in writing; assign reasons for each disputed
item (i.e., identity theft).
3. Follow Up: Creditors have 30 days to respond to
disputes. Credit agencies act as liaisons between you
and creditors. Once the creditor responds, agencies will
notify you of findings.

8. Facts About Credit Report
Freezes
Victimized by fraud or identity theft?
Here’s how credit freezes and fraud alerts work:
1. A credit freeze can be requested from credit bureaus,
essentially padlocking your credit report, making it
inaccessible.
• A fraud alert requires creditors to verify identity
before issuing credit. Freezes deny access.
1. It costs $3 to $10 to freeze reports. ID theft victims
can apply for a no-cost freeze.
2. A freeze blocks unauthorized access to credit and
doesn’t hurt your score, but it can also block YOU from
access, so use it carefully.

9. How Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your
Scores?
The 2 types of Credit Inquiries are “Hard” and “Soft”:
1. ‘Hard’ Credit Pull: These hurt credit scores. ‘Hard’
inquiries are when credit is pulled for new credit or loans,
such as credit cards. The exceptions to hard pulls are
inquiries made specifically for home or car loans.
2. ‘Soft’ Credit Pull: Unlike hard pulls, “soft” pulls will NOT
affect your scores. This is when you go to a credit bureau or
credit-related site like Quizzle to pull reports for your own use.
Inquiries may show up on reports, but won’t factor into scores.

10. Beware Phony “Free” Credit Report & Score
Sites!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cracked down on so –
called
“free” credit report sites using false advertising and
questionable practices.
The 2009 CARD Act aimed to reduce confusion in the free
credit report market. That confusion is used by shady companies
to hawk “free” reports that aren’t free, while charging
consumers for products and services they didn’t want.
In response, many of these sites now offer “free” scores in
place of “free” reports, (the law applies only to the reports!) So
beware: deceptive practices continue, like offering “free”
scores…after a sign-up for other services like credit monitoring.
.

11. 2. How to Build Credit

12. How to Build Credit in 6 Easy
Steps
Building your credit history from scratch?
Follow these 6 Easy Steps:
1. Get a Secured Credit Card
2. Only charge what you can afford to pay off in full
3. Pay--on time--every month
4. Avoid applying for numerous accounts
5. Check your progress by checking your credit reports
and scores
6. After a year, apply for an unsecured credit card
.

13. 5 Ways to Build Credit from
Scratch
1. Open a credit card account: Keep balance low enough
so you can pay it off each month.
2. Pay bills on time every month: This may seem obvious,
but on-time payments are crucial to building scores.
3. Be patient: It may take about 6 months after you’ve
opened your first credit account before there’s
enough information to tabulate a score.
4. Check progress every 6 months: Monitor your scores
regularly. Only Quizzle offers both free reports and
scores - no strings attached.
5. Only apply for credit you actually need.

14. 3 Quick Credit Tips for Young
People
1. BEWARE FEES: Most credit card fees hit young people. Those
fees pay for the perks enjoyed by older card holders.
2. STUDENT LOANS CAN HURT: Education’s great, but loans
are loans. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel even likened college
administrators to subprime mortgage brokers, selling student
loans as ‘investments’ when they’re a big expense (so take
your studying seriously!)
3. RESTRAIN YOUTHFUL OPTIMISM: 85% of young adults think
their finances will improve in the next year—just 35% of those
65+ years agree. This can lead young people to reckless
spending and long-term hardships.

15. ‘Authorized User’ Status
It’s called ‘piggybacking’: a formerly common way of boosting
credit by getting added as an ‘authorized user’ to accounts held
by those with better credit histories. Families used this method
for years.
But “credit repair” services prompted FICO to change scoring
methods and cards to adopt new standards—some stricter
than others. So now, the utility of the practice…well, depends
on the card.
American Express, with monthly payback safeguards, is more
forgiving. Bank of America, however, often rejects non-
immediate family members. So examine each company’s
policies before adding or being added to an existent account.

16. Help Your Kids Establish Credit
1. Instill the work ethic early. A first job should be
standard at an appropriate age.
2. Open checking/savings account in their name. Explain
how credit is built on financial responsibility.
3. Put small bills/utilities in their name. Paying gas,
electric or phone bills builds credit/discipline.
4. Get a secured card. Small credit lines through
department stores build confidence and history.
5. Co-sign for student loan. It’s only “good debt” if you
pay on-time. Make sure they’re ready…and pay on
time—or your score will take a hit too!

17. A 5-Step Method to Build Credit
1. Get a secured Credit Card
2. Charge only what you can pay-Good credit means proving
you pay what you owe. Start by charging only what you can
pay off in full monthly.
3. Pay on time each month-Most important for good credit is to
pay bills and debt on time.
4. Don’t apply for numerous accounts-Each time you apply for
cards or a loan, your score takes a hit.
5. Check reports and scores-After 6 mos., check your credit.
Pay attention to your report—not just your score!

18. 3. Managing & Protecting Credit

19. 5 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft
1. SHRED SENSITIVE DOCUMENTS – Thieves often steal
personal information from the trash.
2. KEEP SOCIAL SECURITY # SAFE – Don’t carry your
card
with you and give out your number only when absolutely
necessary.
3. MONITOR CREDIT REPORTS – If you can’t avoid ID
theft,
detect it early to limit damage.
4. BEWARE UNSOLICITED EMAIL – Don’t give out info in
response to mail that may only look official.
5. USE SOLID PASSWORDS – Pick combinations of upper
and

20. 7 Tips to Protect Credit at
Holidays
1. Check credit report before the holidays.
2. Resist retail credit card offers at checkout.
3. Keep your credit usage low; know your limits!
4. Check your interest rates before you shop.
5. Remain vigilant against identity theft.
6. Don’t get distracted and fail to keep up with your bill-
paying duties!
7. As always, spend only what you can actually afford.

21. Financial Disaster During a
Divorce
1. Make a realistic budget and learn to adjust to a new standard
of living.
2. Close joint bank and credit accounts before divorce and open
new, separate ones.
3. Check your credit report thoroughly before the divorce.
4. Sell your house or valuable property if it is prudent and
logical to do so.
5. Be fair and mature—agreement is less costly than arguments
and huge lawyer fees.

22. Credit Might Be Your Best
Choice
• Your credit score displays your risk as a borrower to
banks and other lenders.
• Applying for new credit lines often is interpreted as
high-risk behavior.
• More credit applications appears as though you’re
having difficulty getting a loan or are overextended.
• Each time your credit is pulled, it is documented.
• Pulling your score is called a ‘hard hit’, and hard hits
take a toll on your score.

23. 4. Credit Facts, Fictions, and
Secrets

24. 10 Quick Fictions About Credit
1. Making more money improves my credit score.
2. When I pay a debt, it drops off my credit report.
3. The credit bureaus never make mistakes.
4. Only paying in cash will help my credit score.
5. All credit reports and scores are identical.
6. Being good with bank accounts improves scores.
7. Closing credit card accounts will help scores.
8. Pulling your own credit reports will hurt scores.
9. If a bill isn’t generally reported to the bureaus,
skipping payments won’t hurt.
10. Disputing true info keeps it off your reports.

25. 4 Key Secrets of the 800+
Credit Score Crowd
1. NEVER MISS PAYMENTS – Payment history accounts
for
roughly a third of your credit rating.
2. KEEP LOW BALANCES, HIGH LIMITS – Try to only
use
40% or less of your available limit.
3. MIX IT UP! – Diversify credit lines with revolving credit
(cards), installment credit (car, student loans), and, if you
can, possibly a home loan.
4. DON’T APPLY FOR NEEDLESS CREDIT – But if you
already have unnecessary cards—don’t close them. That will
hurt your score!

26. 10 Credit Report Fictions
1. Fiction: Pulling your own report hurts your score.
• Fiction: Your income is factored into your score.
• Fiction: Closing credit lines can help your score.
• Fiction: You only have one credit report/score.
1. Fiction: If you pay your bills, there’s no need to check your
score.
2. Fiction: Paying off an old debt removes it from your report
right away.
3. Fiction: Your bank account affects your score.
4. Fiction: Paying in cash helps your credit rating.
5. Fiction: Small debts (library fines, tickets) don’t affect your
score.
• Fiction: Debit & pre-paid cards can build credit.