四个步骤获得完美无瑕的信用外文翻译.docx

四个步骤获得完美无瑕的信用外文翻译.docx

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四个步骤获得完美无瑕的信用外文翻译

外文题目：

FourStepstoSpotlessCredit

出处：

Money

作者：

Chatzky,JeanBigda,Carolyn,Gengler,Amanda

原文：

FourStepstoSpotlessCredit

Everythingyouneedtoknowtopolishyourimagewithlenders,scorebetterratesandguardagainstidentitytheft

Imaginebeingrejectedforacreditcardbecauseyouonceforgottoreturnalibrarybook.Ornotlandingajobbecauseyouwerelatepayingbillswhileyouwereunemployed.Orfindingyoucan'trefinanceyourmortgageatalowratebecauseathief（oryourcousin）openedaccountsinyourname.Allofthesescenariosareoutrageous,butnone,unfortunately,arefar-fetched.

Yourgoodname,oncesomethingyoucouldbuildandnurturefacetoface,isnowanalyzedbyacomputerandruthlesslyboileddowntoasinglethree-digitnumber,yourcreditscore.Thatscorenotonlyaffectshowmuchyoucanborrowandatwhatinterestrate,italsodriveswhetheryoucangetadecentrateoncarinsuranceoranewjob.Andascreditorsroutinelypeekatyourbehaviorwithotherlendersforanexcusetohikeyourinterestratetoasmuchas30%,orevencutyouoffattheknees,justoneslipcanbeespeciallypainful.

That'swhybeingincontrolofyourcreditisarguablythemostimportantfinancialmoveyoucanmake.Thegoodnewsisthatthere'splentyyoucandotoboostyourcreditscore,keepidentitythievesatbayandrestoreyourgoodname--and,byextension,qualifyforbettercreditdealsandwowanyonewhothinksathree-digitnumbersumsyouup.Thestorythatfollowswilltellyouhow.

STEP1:

KnowWhatCreditorsKnow:

Toseeyourselfaslendersseeyou,youneedtwokeythings

•ExerciseyourrighttoafreecreditreportAsoflastyear,everyoneisentitledtoafreereportfromeachofthethreemajorbureaus--Equifax,ExperianandTransUnion--everyyear.TheonlysourcefortrulyfreereportsisAnnualCreditR（877-322-8228）.Butwatchout:

Adizzyingarrayofcompaniespeddle"free"creditreportsthroughwebsitessuchasFreeCreditR（runbyExperian）andFreeCreditP（TransUnion）.Buttogetafreereportfromsiteslikethese,youmustsubscribetoacreditmonitoringservicethatyoulikelydon'tneed.Ifyoudon'tcancelwithin30days,you'llfacefeesashighas$13amonth.

•WhypatiencepaysoffGettingyourcreditreportonlinecanbeanexerciseinfrustration.Why?

Provingwhoyouaremeansansweringaseriesofdetailedquestionssuchasthemodel-yearofacaryousoldlongagoorthenameofthelenderthatfinancedyourhome-equityloan10yearsearlier.Abetterbetistoprintoutandmailtheshortorderform.Yes,itwilltaketwoweeksforyourreporttoarrive.Butunlessyouareapplyingforamortgagetomorrow,that'snobigdeal.

ThenfindoutyourcreditscoreThere'soneimportantthingmissingfromyourfreecreditreport:

yourcreditscore,whichisthecalculationofyourcreditworthinessthatlenders,insurersandevenutilitycompanieslookatwhenyoudobusinesswiththem.Yourscorecanrangefrom300to850,butpracticallynoonehasonelowerthan500.Tolearnwhatyourscoreis,youhavetobuyit--oraskaloanofficerwhenyouapplyforamortgageorotherloan.Bylaw,hemustprovideituponrequest.

•NotallscoresareequalYouactuallyhaveatleastthreescores,eachonegeneratedforadifferentbureau.You'rebestoffbuyingaFICOscore（forFairIsaac,thecompanythatpioneeredcreditscoring）becausemorethan75%ofmortgagedecisionsarebasedonit.Ofthethreecreditbureaus,onlyEquifaxsellsaFICOscore,andyoucanbuyitfor$6.95atAnnualCreditRwhenyourequestyourfreereport.Whenyou'reapplyingforamajorloan,though,it'ssmarttogetFICOscoresfromallthreebureausinadvancebecausetheinformationcanvary;youcanbuythetriofor$45atM.

•Thehigheryourscore,thelessyoupayAcreditscoreof720mighttypicallyqualifyyouforacredit-cardrateof9.6%vs.18%forsomeonescoring600.Forevery$1,000ofyourbalance,you'dsave$86inannualinterest.

STEP2:

PolishYourCreditProfile:

Fourwaystomakeyourselfmoreattractivetolenders

•ScouryourcreditreportforerrorsAfull25%ofreportshaveerrorsseriousenoughtodenyyoucredit,accordingtotheU.S.PublicInterestResearchGroup,andit'suptoyoutofixthem.Yourcreditreportincludesdirectionsforfilingadispute.Formistakessuchasamisspelledname,contactingthebureaubyphoneoronlineisfine.Foranythingelse,writeacertifiedletterwithreturnreceiptrequested.Withafreereport,thebureauhas45daystoinvestigateyourclaim.Inthemeantime,contactthecreditorwhoerredaswell.

•A"consumerstatement"isgenerallyawasteoftime:

Youhavetheoptiontoadda100-wordstatementtoyourcreditreportthatexplainsyoursideofthestory--adisputewithalender,say,orabankruptcy.Butthinkabouthowonlinemortgagelenderswork.Youtypeinyourpersonaldataandwithinafewminutesgetmultipleoffers.It'sallcomputerized.There'snoonetakingthetimetoreadyourcarefullycrafteddefenseofwhyabillwaslate.Evenwhenthereis,astatementmaynothelpandcanoccasionallyhurt."Peopledomoredamagebyadmittingtotheirbadbehavior,"saysStephenSnyder,authorofDoYouMakeThese38MistakeswithYourCredit?

"Itvalidatesthefactthatit'sactuallytrue."

•AlwayspayyourbillsontimeNothingismoreimportanttoyourcreditprofile（seethechartatleft）.Missingyourcreditcard's2p.m.deadlinebyevenafewhourscantriggera$39latefee.That'snotall.Onceyou'relate,thatissuerwillhikeyourinterestrateintothestratosphere,andafter30daysreportyoursliptothecreditbureaus.Whenotherlenderstakealookatyourfile,whichtheydofromtimetotime,theymayraiseyourratetoo.

•Denyyourkids:

Addingachildtoyourcreditcardcanhelphisorhercreditbutsabotageyours.Ifyourkidscanchargeonyouraccountatwill,andtheirwaywardspendingmakesittoughforyoutopaythebills,bothofyoumayendupregrettingyourleniency.

•LivewellwithinyourlimitsHowmuchyouborrowvs.howmuchyoucanborrow,oryourutilizationratio,isthesecondmostimportantfactorbehindyourscore.Using30%orlessofyouravailablecreditisbest.Morethan70%isaseriousdrainonyourscore.Youcanreduceyourutilizationratiointwoways:

Paydownwhatyouhaveborrowedorexpandwhatyoucanborrow.Todothat,raiseyourcreditlimitsoropenanewcard.Justbesureyouresisttheurgetoborrowmoresimplybecauseyoucan.

•Watchout,bigspender:

Evenpayingyourbillinfulleverymonthdoesn'tguaranteealowutilizationratio.Howmaxedoutyoulookdependsonyourbalancethedayyourissuerreportstothebureaus.Ifthat'srightafteryou'vemadeabigpurchasebutbeforeyou'vepaidyourbill,yourscoresuffers,notesEvanHendricks,authorofCreditScoresandCreditReports.For60daysbeforeyouapplyforaloan,putoffanymajorshoppingtrips.

•OpenandcloseaccountswithcareThemostvaluableaccountsareyouroldestones.Ifyoucancelcreditcardsthatyou'vehadforalongtime,forinstance,youmaytakeafilethat's20yearslongandreduceittofourorfiveyears.Tomakesureacardcompanydoesn'ttrytogetridofyou--youcouldbecostingthemmoreinpostagethanyou'reproducinginfees--usethecardeverythreetosixmonths.

•Beasnobaboutlenders:

Youcanbedockedforhavingafinancecompanylistedamongyourcreditors,saysJohnUlzheimer,acreditexpertat."Financecompaniesarethelendersoflastresort,"henotes.Thinkyou'veneverusedafinancecompany?

Youmayhaveifyouhaveeverborrowedforapurchase（furniture,say,oracomputer）throughthestore.

•Trollingforcreditcandingyourscore:

Aflurryofcreditapplicationshurtsyou.Don'tworryaboutshoppingaroundforamortgageoracarloan--multipleapplicationsyoumakewithin14daysforeitherloancountasonlyone.Butthosecardsyouapplyfortoearn10%offatthemall?

Bigmistake.

•Bewaryof"pre-approved"cardoffers:

Whenissuerscompileprospectsforjunk-mailcampaigns,theymakea"soft"creditinquiry,whichhasnoimpactonyourscore.However,itdoesn'tgivethemenoughinformationtoclosethedeal.Forthat,youhavetosendbacktheapplication,givingthempermissiontodoa"hard"inquiry.Thatcountsasanewcreditapplicationandcantakeyourcreditscoredownahandfulofpoints.

•TheMathBehindYourSecretGrade:

Fivefactorsdetermineyourscore.Knowingwhat'smostimportantcanhelpyouraiseyours.

WHATGOESINTOYOURCREDITSCORE

35%Billspaidontime

30%Ratioofdebttocreditlimit

15%LengthofCredithistory

10%Creditapplication

10%VarietyofLoans

STEP3:

ProtectYourGoodReputation:

Knowwhereyou'revulnerableandmountasensibledefense

•ProtectyourpaperworkThinkofyourSocialSecuritynumberasthekeytothekingdom.Anyonewhohasitcaneasilyopenanaccountinyourname.Giveitoutasseldomaspossible,anddon'tcarryyourSocialSecuritycardinyourwallet.Tothwartthieveswhogointoyourmailboxortrash（what'scalledDumpsterdiving）,call888-5OPTOUTtoputastoptocredit-cardoffersinthemail,tellyourbanknottoshareyourinformationandelecttoreceiveandpaybillsonline.

•Trustyourcomputer（butverify）Bankingonlineissaferthanyoumaythink--andbecomingevenmoresecure.Federalregulatorsrecentlyorderedbankstotightentheironlinesecuritybytheendof2006,requiringmorethanjustapasswordtologon.Somefinancialservicescompanies,includingE-TradeandBankofAmerica,alreadyofferthistwo-factorauthentication,butyoumayhavetosignupfor