Good Credit Takes LUCK!

You may be surprised to hear me say this, but LUCK is all you need this St. Patrick's Day to keep your credit healthy. L.U.C.K. as I define it. As you know, maintaining healthy credit is not an accident, it's intentional and it takes work. So, here are four ways you can build, create, and maintain healthy credit so that you're ready to achieve your financial goals.

L -- Look at your credit report -- One of the most important habits to get into to build and maintain healthy credit is to regularly review your credit report. I recommend obtaining your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus -- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- twice per year. You can visit annualcreditreport.com to access your reports for free.

U -- Understand and examine -- Each time you have your credit report make sure you examine it for any errors or incorrect information. You also need to understand everything on your report and call the creditor or the credit bureau if you have questions.

C -- Current -- Keeping current on all of your bills and paying on time is one of the best ways to keep your credit healthy. You can also keep healthy credit by pulling out those credit cards once in a while, using them and paying off the balance when the bill comes. I also recommend paying down your credit card debt as much as possible; to zero if you can but at least to less than 20 percent of your total credit limit.

K -- Keep going! -- Practicing healthy credit habits day after day, year after year will result in a good credit score. The more time and distance you have from a not-so-healthy credit history the higher your score will go.

So, yes a good credit really has to do with L.U.C.K. and this St. Patrick's Day I wish you lots of L.U.C.K. on your quest for that pot of gold in your life!