Likewise, if you leave your money in a mutual fund , rather than periodically withdrawing earnings on it, it will grow significantly faster. Compounding is the key to the success of long-term investments. Credit rating A rating assigned to you by three major credit bureaus that indicates how likely you are to pay back a loan on time. The rating is based on your credit report, a detailed list of all of your past transactions with creditors, like the credit card payment you missed five years ago. Information on your credit reports generally remains there for seven years.
Bankruptcies remain for ten.
A special kind of bank that exists to serve a particular community, such as city employees. Credit unions operate under a different set of rules that allows them to offer better rates than other banks. You are about three times as likely to find free checking with no minimum balance at a credit union than at a regular bank, you'll generally get a better interest rate on your savings or checking accounts, and you'll likely be charged lower fees for things like bounced checks. There are drawbacks, however. Credit unions usually do not have their own ATMs, which means you may end up paying for the use of other banks' machines.