I was wondering how often I should look at my credit history.  The reason I have never looked at my credit history is that I have heard that every time I examine it my credit score will go down.
215442
Looking at your OWN credit history has no effect on the beacon score at all. Go for it.
662128
Your credit only drops after running it more than 3 times within a quarter.  You can check with a loan officer you might know.  You can check with a rental agency.  It costs about 30 bucks.
1791
You can start building a credit history as soon as you can have accounts in your own name.  All the answers you've received thus far are correct.  Something to remember is that credit history takes a long time to build, but not long to destroy.  Good credit history means paying your bills on time and ahead of time.  It's always good to pay more than your minimum payment on loans and credit cards.  Another good tidbit of information is this:  When most creditors run your credit, they weigh recent activity most heavily.  They will see what your recent trends are.  How have you been doing the last 6 months or 1 year?  If you did well for 5 years, but you've been missing payments for 6 months, forget about that loan.  The best thing to do is keep paying bills on time or ahead of time and don't spend more than you make.
172901
First, get a credit report to ensure that nothing has been reported negatively.  If there is erroneous information, dispute it immediately. If there are no problems, you may want to consider a secured credit card.  You put money down as a deposit, in case you default on your payments. Payments on the card are reported like an unsecured card, and in time, the company you have the secured card with, may offer you unsecured credit.  Third, if you have a poor to fair job history, that will look badly for you.  Also, opening a checking AND savings account and not overdrawing, will make you more responsible looking.  Hope this helps!
472866
They don't do an actual credit check, they are just checking to see if you have ever been evicted from a prior residence, they dont really check for credit cards and payment history.
51068
It's sort of a catch-22.  Most things remain on your credit report for 7 years (such as a late payment).  If it goes to collections (let's say after 3 years) then the 7-years starts over again with that item on your credit report.  However, let's say you realize it after another 2 years, want to stop it from being a negative on your credit report, so you repay it - the collections agency will mark it on your credit report as paid, and it resets for another 7 years!  So, while it helps you to repay it, it hurts you at the same time (if you don't repay it, it will always negatively affect your credit score, even if it doesn't appear on there, and the credit agency can always exercise a lien on any money you make down the road).
640747
Check you credit report\n\nget a free on on www.annualcreditreport.com
128114
Call the credit report agency and they should be able to help you. An inquiry on your credit report once in awhile does not look bad. It's when you've got alot of inquiries all in a short amount of time that knocks your credit score down. That is because it looks like you are applying for too much credit all at once and it makes you a "risk". And this is just a thought about that unknown inquiry on your report- did you file you taxes and get the next day "tax anticipation loan"? Because they do pull your credit for that. Just an idea. Good luck
367564
checks bounce....\nIt is important to keep your credit clean
24130
Credit Scores are very important as we all know.  Sometimes there are things on crdit reports that should not be there.\nYou state that you have already tried letters and are looking for something other than the credit repair companies, which often times are scams.\n\nRebuilding takes time: http://www.moremerchant.com\n\nThere are many tips on the above site that can help you out.  Many of the links deal with credit scores as well as rebuilding which it says takes time.\n\nTake a look.
150926
Well all of you information will be on your credit report for 7 years.  Charged off accounts impact your account negatively, only when they are paid in full will they bring your score back up.  If it is not listed on your credit report DO NOT worry about it, if you are only worried about your credit score.  Looking at your scenario, it looks like your credit is in the high 500's, low 600's.  I would suggest keep making payments on time, do not close out any accounts that are currently paid to date, and if you have any more questions contact me... :)\n\ngood luck.
27220
I have about 5 - Used to have more. I don't think 5 is needed though.  3 is my recomended # -  We USED to have credit debt and ended up keeping the 5 cards that have the longest credit history. That's the only reason we have 5.   I do use them often but now it is only for purchases that I KNOW I can pay in FULL when the bill comes.  So I am NOT in debt anymore - Thank You God!!  It was a long road to hoe - 10 long years we paid off our debt  (over $57,000  - not including house loan) \n\nI am a firm believer in credit used properly.  Too many people don't understand how to go about using credit and end up building a mountain of DEBT instead.  I learned the hard way that this not a good idea.\n\nPS -  andy_r_boyd  -  Don't close down your other card.  Just keep it open with no balance.  put the card away in your file cabinet for safe keeping.  When you close down your oldest cards you are closing down your history!!  TIME is your friend.  Just having the card there helps your credit score because you are in good standing with that card.  Plus it shows to other creditors that you are not out of control with your credit cards.  It looks good to have a card with no balance on it.  It shows that you can budget yourself and you don't have to rack your balances up or max your cards out.  Keep it until you are old and gray :)
661352
If you pay on time every month and don't go over your limit you don't pay any interest (on most cards).  \n\nYour score could still go down because of a bad ratio of debt to income.   But it's much worse to have a bad ration of used credit to available credit.  \n\nyou don't have to pay any interest if you pay it completely off on time every month.   Or that is how all my cards work.
659203
Yes, your score goes down....However, if they only pull a credit report from say..Experian that score will go down and the other two will remain the same.\nAll inquires will stay on your credit report for 2 years then drop off.  Try not to have your credit pulled to many times in one month.  If you have revolving credit or loans, and you make your payment a couple of times, your scores should go back to where it was when you had it pulled the first time.\nIf you go to...www.privacyguard.com\nyou can sign up for one month for $1.00 (I believe its $12.95 thereafter) and you can keep track of your fico scores and see who is pulling your credit.  The worst things to have on your credit report to bring your scores down the worst are collections, judgements and charge offs.\nAlso, try not to max your credit cards.  On credit cards try to always keep your balance at half of your limit to maximize your fico scores and never 30 days past due.  On loans, try not to pay 30 days late either.
151895
Yahoo just had something on the homepage about devious "junk buyers" buying old debt for pennies on the dollar and then trying to make you pay even after the statute of limitations had passed-I know there is limits but as to what they are I can not 100% tell you.  \n\nAnd actually it is never 'removed' from your credit report, but companies only 'pull' a 7-10 year history, so it does not show, the debt is always listed on the report, so it never really disappears, just hanging out in old debt land, and if you go for a Senate Hearing or something they will pull it up.\n\nThe report said something about the basement buyers buying the debt and then reporting it as a 'new' debt to get it back active on your Credit Report, which is against the law.  The report also said they target those that paid some debt, because they were more worried about the ramifications of the credit report.  I will research and see if I can find the article-it was an informative read.
440234
If it's tied to a business, it shouldn't show up on your personal credit account.  However, If it's a small business, the credit company may use your personal background to assess credit risk.
133949
One credit pull should only have a slight effect on your credit score.  True this matters more if you are on the border of a score category.\n\nThe good news is that the effect should not last very long.