Your credit record (the details of your financial history) is a thorough accounting of your financial life known as your credit report. This document contains your credit score, which is a numerical ranking ranging from around 300 to 850 that is the primary determining factor for lenders considering potential creditworthiness. A good credit report is vitally important to your financial future.

Your credit report contains all of your personal information as well as a detailed listing of all credit accounts and their activity. It also documents who and how many inquiries have been made into your report.

In some states it even includes court judgments and other public record information that could prove detrimental to one's ability to obtain a loan for as long as a decade.

You are purchasing power depends on your credit rating, so a clean report is paramount for a healthy financial life. If yours isn't what it should be, you can clean up the mess and enjoy good credit.

Start by getting a copy for yourself. Go over it to make sure it is correct and contains no mistakes or inaccuracies. If you find such problems, you request, in writing, the Bureau to correct the record. This can take quite a while and you'll likely need to follow up several times to see the changes, but persistence will pay off so just don't give up.

Every citizen is allowed one free credit report each year for each of the three Main credit reporting agencies.(Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax) Past that, it'll cost you, and repeat inquiries lower your credit score, so use this resource wisely.

Always remember to carefully review the information for discrepancies and errors-you don't want to pay for others' mistakes if you can help it.

Finally, keep tabs on your credit and pay your bills on time. You can add 50 points per year to your score by maintaining your finances carefully.