Women In Technology Group Gets Lesson in Personal Finance, Credit

Ranken’s Women In Technology (WIT) group hosted a luncheon on Thursday, February 9 and invited guest speakers from the Clayton branch of Bancorp South.

Angie Finks, vice president for lending, and Eric Griffith, a personal banker, both attended the event and gave a presentation on credit reporting, financial goal setting and borrowing. Griffith covered the "4 C’s of Credit" that banks look at when deciding to loan you money. These include Character (signs of stability and reliability), Collateral (backing up a loan with personal property), Capacity (the likelihood that you can repay the loan plus interest) and Credit (the amount of credit you already have.)

Both speakers answered questions from the group and also gave helpful tips on how to deal with credit and borrowing. Some of these included:

DO check your credit report once a year to make sure all information is accurate. Everyone can get a free credit report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

DO NOT only pay the minimum payments month after month.

DO pay rent or mortgage payments on time every month

DO NOT open up credit cards in several different stores that offer you discounts or coupons.

DO open a credit card account, pay it off each month and remain with the company for an extended period of time. This helps your credit score

DO NOT open several credit card accounts and cancel them quickly. This shows short term credit and can affect your credit score negatively.

DO communicate with your lender if you know you are going to be late on your payment or are unable to make the payment due to unforeseen circumstances.