Financial Tip or Trust everyone but cut the cards.

[a1Bogey]

In the last couple of months I've been doing some projects that involve the need for financing from banks.    The first step banks want/need to do is obtaining Credit Reports.    Well,  I was surprised when my banker asked me and my wife about some " retail charge accounts" , listed on one of the credit reports.    You know the ones,  Macy's, Sears, just store charge accounts.    The surprise was that I and my wife have not had any store accounts for a very long time.   One of the accounts was paid in full and closed out in 1984.   Another puzzlement to me is the fact that in the last 15 years I have had the need for many credit reports.   And these  ghost accounts have not  been reported.   No explanation has been given for these items to be able to rise from the dead.

So, what is the purpose of this post?  To inform all, that the 1st of the year would be a good time to check/obtain  your credit reports and clean off any information that is in error.  Could save you some hassle if you plan to do a refinanceing or buy a house or auto.   Not counting the fact that a higher credit score can give you lower interest rates.

Bogey