Joe was in a furniture department store with his wife. He wanted to purchase a full living room suite to replace the ones he had at the house. However, the cost of getting brand new furniture was daunting. He knew that the store wanted to give credit to well-established individuals but he knew he didn't fit the bill. When he and his wife first started out, they suffered through a bankruptcy and are still trying to get out of the hole to this day. Joe felt as though he wouldn't be able to apply for a store credit card because of this. Yet he tried anyways...

In the credit world, emphasis is built on three principles: Character, Capacity, and Capital. Character means a person's reputation concerning debt. Capacity is earning power or a person's ability to pay off debts from their income. Capital simply means things owned or property. These three things are essential to have before you fill out credit applications. When filling out credit applications, one must know what each space needs and what to put there. Most credit offices want the following information:

• 1. Name Of Employer - The employer will most likely be contacted and asked whether the applicant works for the company.
• 2. Salary - This information is very important because it helps the credit issuer to judge the capacity of the applicant. In most cases, the employer will also be asked to verify the amount.
• 3. Years Worked For Present Employer - An applicant who has worked for the same employer for a long time is thought of to be more stable than someone who held many jobs in a short amount of time. However, a person who's just started out working may be given the benefit of the doubt.
• 4. Previous Employment - An individual who has skipped through many jobs or someone who doesn't move on to better jobs may pose a risk for credit issuers. The credit issuer may contact past employers to investigate further.
• 5. Address/Length Of Time - This is another sign of a person who is stable. If a person has lived at the same address for a long time, then this will show that he isn't someone who will leave unexpectantly.
• 6. Home Ownership - This is evidence of capital to the credit department. This will be heightened if the applicant owns their home versus renting. There are some applications that ask how much you are paying to rent or own. This tells the credit manager whether the consumer is paying so much for housing that he may not be able to pay on the debt.
• 7. Credit References - This is the best clue to a person's habit of paying bills. The credit issuer will contact a few of the businesses and ask whether the credit applicant paid their bills on time and how much do they owe now. Although many companies now look to credit reports, there are some who do the research on their own when determining whether to issue a line of credit or not.
• 8. Bank References - The bank will be asked how much the credit applicant is in debt and the balance in the applicant's savings and checking accounts. This bank reference definitely will have major bearings on all three of the credit principles.

These are but just a few of the questions you will find when filling out credit applications. Of course there are other questions, but these are the most important. It can make a difference between getting the line of credit or not. It's not hard to fill out these applications. It's just a matter of what your past history is and what's been done already.