 Hitching a ride on hubby's credit
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 Dear
Dr. Don,
I don't have the greatest credit score. So every time my husband
and I open an account, we use his name to avoid the hassle. Should
we suck it up and take the higher rate and open accounts under my
name to help recover my score?
-- Shelly Stigma
 Dear Shelly,
Most negative information drops off your credit report after seven
years. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing is the biggest exception to
that -- it stays on your credit report for 10 years. The passage
of time does a lot in improving your credit score, but building
a clean payment history will also help.
One way to finesse this without applying for credit
in your name, at an exorbitant interest rate, is to be an authorized
user on your husband's accounts. The credit card companies are legally
required to report the payment history on a credit report when the
authorized user is a spouse.
Since you can be added to his existing credit accounts
as an authorized user, there's no need to apply for new credit to
make this happen. Give this approach a chance to work over the next
year or two, and, assuming a clean payment history on these accounts,
you'll be well on your way to rebuilding your credit history and
credit score.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask
the Experts" page, and select one of these topics: "financing
a home," "saving & investing" or "money."
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