Prior to 1970, women found it extremely difficult to independently obtain credit. Any child support or alimony that a woman gained was not considered a form of income and some lenders even denied women credit based upon their age. Fortunately times have changed and the law now states that everyone must be given the same rights when seeking credit. Lenders cannot deny a person credit based on their gender, according to Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (FECOA), although in actuality, some women are still facing barriers. This article gives women in this position five helpful tips in regards to obtaining credit.



Tip #1: Knowledge is power. It is true that on average a woman will earn less than her male counterpart in this country, so, it stands to reason that if you make less money, less credit will be available to you. That is the way of life, unfair though it may be. But if you are aware of this, you can work your way around it. If, for example, most of your family's finances are in the husband's name, you will be deemed "invisible" by the credit bureaus - with no credit rating, you cannot obtain credit.

Tip #2: Joint credit can often also mean no credit. If you have a joint account with your husband, the credit is not considered to be of your own, independent of your spouse. Women who have gone through divorce can attest to this fact. It is advisable then to establish some accounts in your own name to help you build a credit rating.

Tip #3: Conversely, joint credit could give you easier access to your own good credit. If you have had credit problems independently, but your husband has a great credit rating, you may be able to use this to your advantage. It is much easier and quicker to use the favorable joint credit to build credit independently rather than having to do it all on your own.

Tip #4: Take care - joint credit may also result in a worse credit rating for you. When you were married, you brought with you an excellent credit rating. You established joint accounts with your husband, but unfortunately he did not appear to have the same ability in managing financial affairs as you did and as such he has dragged down your credit rating. It is wise in this case to have some separate accounts as protection for you should a divorce occur. Remember, 50% of marriages fail, so this is a sensible, if not romantic, move.

Tip #5: Financial institutions love joint accounts. We all know that we should steer clear of anything that a financial institution thinks is great. They like joint accounts because in the event of one of the couple having a financial disaster, they will be able to call upon the other to repair the damage. In turn, this will damage your credit rating. A separate account will give you a "fallback" for your credit should any such financial disaster occur.

Take care to heed these simple tips in regards to your credit card and you will discover that you will be successful in being considered equally and with reward regarding with your credit.