第二篇 　　Making yourself a good record

　　If you are an American and you think you might need to borrow money someday， the best thing to do is start early.

　　That’s because just as many employers want to hire only people with experience, banks and other creditors are usually reluctant to lend to those without a proven track record of paying back, on time, the money they have borrowed.

　　But if you need experience just to get a start, how do you get that start in the first place?

　　With a little help from your parents usually, while you are still financially dependent on them. It is easy to get a credit card or student loan when you are in college, because banks figure your parents will bail you out if you fail to pay.

　　So just as students take on internships to build up their resumes, one’s university time can be a good time to work on another important personal record: the credit report .

　　Credit reports are a summary of one’s personal credit history, gathered by a credit reporting agency, or CRA.

　　Banks, and companies - including hospitals, landlords and insurance companies – regularly report to the three main CRAs in the US on how their customers are doing at paying back the money they owe .

　　Anyone with a “legitimate business need” has the right to order individuals’ reports from the CRAs. Potential creditors usually compile the information in the reports into a credit “score”, ranking the level of creditworthiness. Lack of experience in borrowing in addition to a bad record of doing so, can result in a low score.

　　Even if you are not considering taking out a loan for such a large purchase as a home or car, your credit report can be important to getting through life. Landlords often ask for the reports to judge whether a person can be trusted to pay the rent. Credit checks are necessary for getting a credit card, even for purchasing a mobile phone calling plan.

　　People can obtain a copy of their own credit report, usually at a cost of around US$8-9. Some consumer organizations recommend doing this once a year to allow one to catch any mistakes that have slipped into the records or, even worse, to find out whether any fraud has taken place. Though the system is controlled by laws meant to protect people’s privacy, it isn’t fool-proof: Sometimes people take out bad loads in others’ names, ruining their records.

　　In a society addicted to credit, that can be a disaster.