Single Parents and Credit Scores – Episode #105

Single Parents and Credit Scores

According to the U.S. Census Bureau [August, 2007], there are approximately 13.6 million single parents in the United States today, and those parents are responsible for raising 21.2 million children. Approximately 84% of custodial parents are mothers who are carrying a large burden.

If you are a single parent, I realize that you don’t have a lot of time to learn about credit. So here is a quick action list.

1. Make sure you are no longer “joint” financially with the absent parent. Too often, we hear about an absent parent who destroys the credit of the custodial parent by running up credit card debt on joint credit cards. If you are unsure, call your credit card companies and ask whether your credit cards are joint cards or individual cards. If they are joint cards, close them and open individual cards.
2. Start pulling your credit report for free from annualcreditreport.com. This won’t give you a credit score, but you can see what’s in your report.
3. Correct any inaccuracies that are in your report. If you don’t believe an account tradeline is correct, you can dispute it. Check out our free dispute form letters.
4. If your credit is terrible consider credit counseling with a US Dept of Justice approved counseling agency.
5. Teach your child or children about money and credit early on. Credit can make life easier. It can save time from having to make frequent ATM or Cash Checking storefront stops.
6. Get “creducated” and learn how to build credit if you haven’t started or know you don’t have a credit score because you don’t have enough credit.

Without getting into a debate on credit’s benefits and drawbacks, I’ll point out that even the FTC believes that credit is necessary to help create wealth. Even if wealth is too lofty a goal right now, good credit score management can save you money and make life a little sweeter.