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You'll have variances because there are different items being reported to different credit agencies. Perhaps you have a merged file with someone who has a similar name over at Transunion, but not at EQ. Your points can also fluctuate depending on "hard pulls" made by someone who is checking your credit, but different companies use different agencies. It's bad to have lots of credit requests floating out there at the same time, but it would make a huge difference if Experian was used by most of the potential creditors looking at your account.

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Agreed, this is a wise example. It is really a bad idea to condemn all debt as being bad. It is definitely good, when building a business, increasing your salary (i.e. smart school debt), and getting a mortgage. Only unsecured credit card debt is generally unwise, and only if it's for stuff like eating out and buying clothes... assuming it has nothing to do with getting a better job or building a business. You also make a good point about who Ramsey's advice works for. There are middle grounds that serve different spending styles and attitudes. If you have poor impulse control, then cash is definitely king. Completely cutting debt out is an extreme position that will work best for someone who needs extreme help.

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Federal student loans do not depend on your credit score.

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Credit is for people who want to start up a business or get a college education and it's extremely important. Without credit, some students may not even be allowed to go to college if they can't already afford it. In my own experience, it's also important to get your kid's credit score going as early as possible.What happened to me is I didn't have a credit card before going to school and tried getting loans. Well, because I never had credit, there was no score. Therefore I wasn't allowed financial aid for awhile until I built up a score. Thats why it's important that students get their credit started as soon as possible. It is also important for them to keep up with small credits. Handling a credit card is a the perfect tool to get a basic idea about a person and thats why even this is important to keep your score up, especially with someone just starting a credit rating. Bigger credit like loans will ultimately be decided on small credit from credit cards and the score you are getting on handling that small debt. Once you have done well, credit agencies will increase your score and let you have bigger loans.I am starting a new credit forum up at: <a class="user" href="http://www.bigmoneyforum.com/make-money-forum/forumdisplay.php?f=217&quot;&gt;http://www.bigmoneyforum.com/make-money-forum/forumdisplay.php?f=217&lt;/a&gt;I thought this may be of interest for people who have credit questions or need advice. I hope this is what you were looking for :)Best Regards

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Watch out for sites like <a class="user" href="http://www.spendonlife.com&quot;&gt;http://www.spendonlife.com&lt;/a&gt; and <a class="user" href="http://www.freecreditreportsinstantly.com&quot;&gt;http://www.freecreditreportsinstantly.com&lt;/a&gt;They aren't all that free if you know what I mean.

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Here's another "not so" free credit report and score site to watch out for - <a class="user" href="http://www.freebiecreditreport.com&quot;&gt;http://www.freebiecreditreport.com&lt;/a&gt;

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Howstuffworks has a nice overview. But, this is an area that requires lots of education. I recommend watching the free videos on <a class="user" href="http://www.videocreditscore.com&quot;&gt;http://www.videocreditscore.com&lt;/a&gt; to learn more about credit scores.

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Also, learn different ways to get free credit report at <a class="user" href="http://www.freecreditreportsinstantly.org/three-ways.html&quot;&gt;http://www.freecreditreportsinstantly.org/three-wa ...</a>

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Check it to see how you can fix your score <a class="user" href="http://www.on-freeannualcreditreport.com/annualcreditreport/how-to-fix-credit-score.html&quot;&gt;http://www.on-freeannualcreditreport.com/annualcre ...</a>It's not have to pay and you can improve it

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Call credit now have a specialised part of their agency that deals particularly with consumer credit reports (as opposed to businesses)<a class="user" href="http://www.callcreditcheck.com/&quot; rel="nofollow">http://www.callcreditcheck.com/&lt;/a&gt;

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You can also use <a class="user" href="http://www.creditjungle.co.uk&quot; rel="nofollow">http://www.creditjungle.co.uk&lt;/a&gt; in the UK which provides free credit scores.

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