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Business
BOOK REVIEW: What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith
By DEBORAH MOODY
Augusta Focus Staff Writer
If truth were told, we all proba
bly think we're pretty special.
Many of us have moved up steadi
ly in our carcers. Were going
places. Maybe we are special.
Nevertheless, the specialness that
has brought us so much success
up until now may have blinded us
to the things in which we are not
so good. We've succeeded on our
skills, despite our shortcomings.
On the other hand, author
Marshall Goldsmith is here to say
thar if we want to keep moving
Consumers need to be mindful of credit scores, impact on debt
By EILEEN ALT POWELL
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Not paying atten
tion to your credit score can cost you a lot
of money.
Many people don't know that their score
— a three-digit number derived from an
analysis of how they handle debt -is the
key determinant of what interest rate they'll
pay on credit cards, auto loans and home
mortgages. The lower a person's score is, the
higher the interest rate and, therefore, the
higher the cost for the loan.
A new swmudy by the Consumer
Federation of America and Washington
Mutual Inc., the Seattle-based savings
bank, found that fewer than six out of 10
Americans have obtained their credit scores,
and half of those surveyed consider their
understanding of the scores as “fair” or
Stephen Brobeck, executive director of
the nonprofit CFA, which is based in
Wiashington, D.C.,, said he found the statis
tis disturbing because consumers can't
work to improve their scores if they dont
know what the scores are.
“Many people don't understand what the
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he said. It’s important, he “because
the role credit plays in peoples’ lives is
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is a FICO score, which is named for the-
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SAARSHALL GOLDSAAITe T
up, What Got You Here Wont Get
You There.
So, what's wrong with us? Well,
if we are like most people, we've
got one, two, maybe three of
Minneapolis-based Fair Isaac Corp. that
created it.
FICO scores range from 300 to 850.
Scores of 700 and above are considered
good, and about half of consumers fall into
this category. Those below 600 are weak,
and some 15 percent of Americans fall into
this range. The rest are in between.
Fair Isaac gives this illustration of how
different scores can affect consumers: A
borrower with a score of 700-759 could
qualify for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
loan with a 6.6 percent interest rate requir
ing a monthly payment of $1,916. A per
son with a score of 620-659 would geta 7.7
percent rate on such a mortgage and have
to pay $2,138 a month.
There are ways for consumers to improve
their scores — most importandy by paying
bills on time and not maxing out credit
cards — but first they need to find out what
their scores are, and there are several ways to
do that.
The scores are generated off reports com
piled by the three main major credit-report
ing agendies — Equifax, Experian and
Trans Union. Since 2005, consumers have
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each once a year. Reports can
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careditreport.com or at the toll-free number
877-322-8228.
While the credit reports are free, con
sumers must pay for credit scores ~ general
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AUGUSTA FOCUS
Goldsmith's handy Twenty
Habits That Hold You Back.
Things such as our uncontrollable
need to always win, to always be
right, to pass judgment on others,
to make destructive comments, to
be negative, to not control our
tempers — get the picture? In addi
tion, if we all want to take the next
step up, we are going to have to
work on our issues.
Of course no one has all these bad
habits. In fact, some of us have
these habits but not to a degree
that it really hurts us - our co
workers dont mind them, even if
agendies. There’s a link to each of the agen
des from the annual report Web site, or
consumers can go directly to the agency sites
E '
Constance L. Woods
Financial Planning Specialist
Financial Consultant
Investment Management Specialist
Retirement Plan Consultant
One Tenth Street Suit 600
Augusta GA 30901
(706) 823-8144
www.fcsmithbamey.com/woods
“THIS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT.”
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world. CITIGROUP and the Umbreiia Device are trademarks and service maris of Citicorp or ita affillates
and are used and rogistared throughout the world.
we are occasionally annoying.
However, just about everyone has
one or two that are serious
enough to affect their success at
work. Those are the ones to figure
out and start working on.
It's important that we realize our
shortcomings, because those
around us already know them.
Saying “that’s just who I am” isnt
going to cut it, unless we want
someone else to get the promo
tion.
So, how do we find out our
weaknesses and go about fixing
them? Goldsmith has a number
Serving the Investment
needs of the Community
August 2, 2007
of ideas, none earth shattering but
all important. We have to elict
feedback, apologize for our screw
ups, commit to becoming better,
and contnually follow up to see
how we are doing. What Got You
Here Wont Get You There is self
help for the business dlass, telling
us what we already know but
pounding the ideas in hard
enough that we might actually use
them. If our jobs are important to
us, we will at least try them.
at wwwequifaxcom, www.experian.com or
www.transunion.com. Fair Isaac also sells
See Credit, page 16
® Financial Planning
® Money Management
® Estate Planning
® IRAs and Pension Plans
@ Government Securities
® Tax-Free Bonds
o Corporate Bonds
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® Annuities
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