This content was created by Alan Akina. This content was uploaded by Alan Akina. This is a YouTube video titled "Financial Fitness - Understanding your Credit Report" (posted Feb 22, 2011). It's a short financial fitness segment from the Wake Up Today program featuring multiple speakers: one announcer citing Credit Karma data about Hawaiʻi's high per-person credit card debt, a host who introduces Alan Akina, and Alan Akina (Speaker C) delivering the main piece. Alan explains what a credit report is, what items appear on it, the three national credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax), why credit history matters, and directs viewers to annualcreditreport.com to obtain their free report.
Last month, Hawaiʻi residents on average had the second highest credit card debt in the nation. Data released by the credit scoring website Credit Karma says per person, credit card debt here came in at more than $8,400.
In this morning's financial fitness segment, Alan Akina tells us how we can get a start, a good start, on handling our credit score.
Good morning, everyone. Did you know that as adults we're being graded on our work even though we're not in school anymore? Yes, we are. It's our financial grades, and they call it credit reports and credit scores. This week we're going to focus on your credit report. Next week I'll cover credit scores. So a credit report is your financial history from your creditors and public records. Credit reports compile all of your past and present liabilities. That means your credit card payments, car loans, mortgage payments, student loans, utility bills, even collection items. If you owed a company a payment, it shows if you paid it and when, and it has record of who else checked your credit. Now, there are 3 national credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. These 3 agencies collect information from your creditors and public records and update it every single month. Now, building a positive credit history is extremely important, folks, to your financial health. You see, lenders use your credit report to determine if you can qualify for a loan and at what interest rates. Insurance providers, landlords, employers frequently review a candidate's credit report as well. To get your free credit report, go to annualcreditreport.com. Review your credit report today and see where you stand. For Wake Up Today, I'm Alan Akina. See you next week.
