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IMS Tax Preparation Guide A good credit rating takes responsibility By Jimmy Thornton Copley News Service "Give credit where .credit is due" pretty much sums up the rule of len­ ding money. And that can be inter­ preted two ways: First -- Bankers and other lenders say this means a person on sound finan­ cial footing is likely to pay money back, so is a good credit risk^ Second -- Some consumers needing credit will grumble that this means you have to prove you don't need money before they'll lend it to you. Of course, credit has its place. Without it, the United States of America, deeply in debt itself, would flounder; many of us would be without homes, cars and television sets, and much of commerce would go belly-up for lack of customers. So we return to that great consumer question: If you don't have credit, how do you get it? The question particularly concerns youngsters who are breaking away from family financial ties for the first time, women who have obtained a divorce, people have moved into a new community or the individualist who finally has decided paying "cash only" isn't serving his lifestyle to the fullest. Establishing credit is a continuing process. Once you get your first home loan, your first credit card or your first charge card, you continued good credit is not guaranteed. Payments must be made in a timely manner. Fail to abide by the contract, and you will find your credit line severed. Lenders, like banks and credit unions, can set their own rules as to who qualifies for credit. However, they can't discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, sex, marital status or religion. A divorced woman who may have relied on her husband's income must be given the same consideration as a man or other woman who is financially reliable. And a wife is entitled to her own credit card without having it in the name of her husband if she can show she can handle the payments. In fact, credit advisers recommend that married women establish credit in their names so if they separate from their husbands, they don't have the ad­ ditional trauma of proving themselves financially stable. Single women who plan to marry are advised to keep their accounts in their own names after marriage. Following are fundamentals of establishing credit as outlined by Bank of America in a consumer information report. • Open a checking or savings ac­ count. Some banks allow minors to open accounts. To bankers and other lenders, the fact tht you manage your money through savings or checking is a big plus. One lender said if he sees a young person had a newspaper route, that indicates to him that the lad or lass has had experience managing money. • Buy some merchandise on a layaway plan. You don't have to have credit to put something on layaway, but the record of your paying for the mer­ chandise shows financial responsibili­ ty. • Be sure you can pay the money back. Figure out your expenses and match them with your income. Can you make the payments that would result from a loan? • if you are new in the community and have a credit rating elsewhere, ob­ tain it to show to your new creditors. Also, transfer accounts to your new location. • Fill out a credit application fully and truthfully. If you are caught holding back harmful information or falsifying it, you surely will be denied credit. • Avoid borrowing more than you need. It's good to have a credit cushion; that is, you still could be able to borrow money in case * of an emergency. • You can use a savings account as collateral. • Make a big down payment. This shows you are "in the dough" and reduces the amount of payments. • Young people often must have a cosigner, usually a parent.. • If you are turned down, find out why. • If you can't make payments because of illness, loss of a job or other emergency, contact your creditors without delay. Often, lower payments can be made over an extended period of time. A creditor by law must tell you where he got damaging information. The in­ formation in your credit file- is available to you free of charge if you make a written request. • Correct your file. You have the right to have incorrect or incomplete information checked out -- and deleted -- if it is wrong. In cases of dispute, you may write your side of the story in 100 words or less -- and it must be placed in your file and included in future reports. For example, if a bank failed to credit a deposit and as a result you missed a key payment, you can explain why the payment was missed. 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