Author: Philip Tirone

If you want to learn how to build credit and raise your credit score, you simply must pull it.
I’m talking about your credit report.
I tell my clients that they must review their credit report at least once every six months, and, depending on how low their credit score is, perhaps even quarterly.
In Step Five of my book, 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, I explain that almost 80 percent of people have errors on their credit report, and 25 percent of these are severe enough to cause a person to lose a loan or a job opportunity.
So what do you do if you spot an error?
First and foremost, if you think you are a victim of identity theft, call the three credit bureaus right away to put a freeze on your credit account. This way, no one else can open credit in your name.
If the mistake doesn’t seem to indicate that you are a victim of identity theft, you can start by filing an online dispute at each of the three credit bureaus. Following are links:

• TransUnion
• Equifax
• Experian

As well, contact the credit card company or the bank in question. If they are reporting incorrect information, you can get the ball rolling by asking them to investigate the mistake.
One of the most common (and dangerous) mistakes you will find is an inaccurate credit limit.
So why does an inaccurate credit limit hurt your credit score?
The credit-scoring agencies give higher credit scores to people with lower utilization rates (your credit card balance as a percentage of your limit.) If your limit is, for instance, $2,000, and your balance is $600, you have a utilization rate of 30 percent.
This is a good utilization rate, and it should help your credit score.
But if your credit card company is reporting your limit as $1,000 instead of $2,000, your utilization rate will appear to be 60 percent (a $600 balance on a $1,000 limit). This is a bad utilization rate, and it will cause your score to drop.
So if you want to build your credit score, start by filing a dispute with all three credit bureaus. At the same time, place a call or send a letter to your credit card company demanding that they report your correct limit.
Then, be sure to pull your credit report again to make sure that the mistake has been corrected.
Oh, and one more credit repair tip: Your credit score will never be damaged if you pull your own credit report. Though inquiries into your credit score by lenders will cause a dent in your score, pulling your own credit report is considered responsible behavior. So do it freely!
Have any questions? Need a credit repair tip that will help you build a 720 credit score? Be sure to leave a comment below.

Would I rather be glad I bought the latest iPhone, or be glad I saved money for a vacation so that I can relax with my amazing wife Lily Tirone?

That’s the question I posed last week, when I suggested that you ask yourself a simple question before making a spending decision …
At the end of my life, would I rather have this or that? (If you missed this post, you can read it here.)
This is Part 2 … a follow up on last week’s post. I wrote it on Tuesday because a lot of people pointed something out …
This question can be applied more broadly and expanded beyond the topic of finances. It can be asked to guide the choices we make and determine whether these choices are in line with our life values.
This week, something came up that hit home for me …
My wife (Lily Tirone) and I are taking our kids to the Bahamas.
I want you to have a little taste of what my family looks like, so I’ve posted a picture below. My oldest, Ava, is five. Dominic is almost four, and Luke is about two and a half.

At any rate, this is a really special vacation because it is probably the last time the Tirone family will take a vacation together … just the five of us.
See, Lily is about three months pregnant, so in six months, Baby #4 will be here, and the Tirones will be a family of six!
Now, if you are a parent, you can probably imagine what it’s like getting the Tirone family through the airport. Lily and I have three car seats, a triple stroller, bags of baby gear, books for the kids to read, toys … the list goes on and on.
Lily and I basically look like pack mules, and no one ever wants to be behind us in the security line. Frankly, it’s kind of a nightmare.
It’s really tough traveling with three young kids, and both Lily and I have had thoughts of not going … it would be a lot more convenient to just stay home.
But if we stayed home, I’d inevitably end up working. I know I would. In the Bahamas, I’ll turn off my cell phone. I won’t check my email. I’ll tell my staff to call the hotel room only if someone is bleeding.
The Tirone family of five will be able to spend some really special quality together-time.
And at the end of my life, I’m going to say, “I’m sure glad I spent that time with my kids and with Lily. I’m glad Lily and I hauled my unruly young kids through security line and suffered the headaches.”
If we decided to skip the vacation, I’m positive that I would never look back and say, “Boy, I sure wish I hadn’t gone on vacation with my family and had stayed home and worked instead.”
Every single time we take a vacation together, our family grows closer and closer.
In fact, when I come back, I’ll tell you what I learned on this trip!
For now, I just want to encourage you to remember to make choices — financial or otherwise — that reflect what you want long-term. These choices might be inconvenient in the short-term, but if they honor your life values, you won’t look back and regret them!
If you have any thoughts about this, or if you want to share your stories, be sure to post a comment below!
– Philip Tirone

Most people approach marriage and credit with a one-for-all, all-for-one attitude. They open joint credit cards, apply for car loans as a couple, and stop building separate credit histories. After all, they have joined their lives together; why not marry their credit histories?
Though the sentiment is appealing, keeping some credit accounts separate has big advantages. Holding credit jointly puts a couple at even greater risk during times of financial crisis. Here are two common credit pitfalls of marriage.
Pitfall #1: Joint Credit Cards and Automobile Loans
Let’s imagine what would happen in a typical household by considering Jack and Jill, a married couple with joint credit cards and joint automobile loans.
Jack lost his job, so the couple is trying to make ends meet. After a couple of months, they start realizing that they cannot afford all of their bills. So they stop making payments on several credit cards and on one of the two car loans. The credit card bills are sent to collections and the car is repossessed.
And both Jack and Jills’ credit scores are in the trash.
Now let’s see how the same situation would play out with Peter and Paula, a married couple with separate credit cards and automobile loans.
When Peter loses his job, the couple creates a strategic plan about their forthcoming financial problems.
Peter and Paula know they can only afford to pay all their bills for three months; the money will run out after that. Peter searches high and low for a job, but is unsuccessful. After three months have passed, the couple decides to stop paying credit cards and car loans in Peter’s name. They stay current only on bills in Paula’s name.
Of course, Peter’s credit score suffers. But Paula’s remains pristine. This means that Paula is able to apply for loans in her name, while Peter learns how to rebuild credit.
Opening all loans jointly is among the biggest credit-scoring mistakes a married person can make. Let’s take a look at another one.
Pitfall #2: Holding All Credit in One Spouse’s Name
Opening all credit cards and loans in one spouse’s name is another big no-no for married couples.
This usually happens when one spouse works a nine-to-five job and the other stays home with the kids. The spouse with the paycheck opens all credit in his or her name.
But what happens if something happens to the working spouse? A bankruptcy, death, loss of income, or divorce would make the other spouse vulnerable. Because no credit is the same as bad credit, the stay-at-home spouse would have no ability to secure a loan.
There’s another problem with this strategy. Let’s switch this scenario up a bit and imagine that both spouses work. The wife has a part-time job with a small salary, so all of the credit is in the husband’s name. The couple decides to buy a home. To qualify for a loan, they need both spouses’ income.
The couple now has a big problem: The wife has no credit history, so her score is low. Putting her name on the home loan would endanger the loan. And the husband cannot qualify for the loan on his own—he needs his wife’s income for that extra boost.
Most likely, the couple would not qualify for the loan. At a minimum, the couple would pay a higher interest rate.
This pitfall can be avoided if both spouses build their own credit scores.