Give yourself credit for all your consumerism! You know you deserve it. Motivating yourself to balance that checkbook day after day is definitely a task worth applauding. And, what about how you've handled those credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans, utility bills, (and so on)? Well, you must have one of the fittest credit ratings around!

You can't really figure out your credit rating without first taking a close look at your credit report. A credit report tells you in detail some vital facts about your credit history and then scores it on a rating that lets future lenders decide if you are either a desirable customer or a risk they will turn away.

Four types of information are described on your report. This information is available upon your asking from credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Errors do happen, so check over your report for misspellings or mistaken identity.

• Who Are You? This information includes your name, addresses, Social Security number, year of birth, employers, aliases, and spouse (if appropriate).
  
• What kind of credit do you hold or held? A listing of your accounts (such as banks, credit card issuers, lenders, and utility companies. Lenders include mortgage, student loan, and so on. Other related information such as the date the account was opened, loan limit, and payment pattern over the past 2 years is listed too.
  
• Do you have any public records? If bankruptcy, tax liens and such are on your state and county court records, these records will also be on your credit report.
  
• Have you recently inquired about your credit or has anyone else? If you or anyone else has inquired about your credit in the past 2 years, this will be noted along with the names.