Many issues seem to merge together on their own when you marry. The words "yours" and "mine" tend to fade away more and more in favor of "ours," and may involve everything from cooking utensils to savings accounts. You can choose to pool your incomes, synchronize your vacation times, and mesh your personal tastes, but what about your credit as a married couple? How will your new status affect your credit histories, now and in the future? By understanding what marriage means to your credit from the beginning, you can help yourselves become credit-wise together.

What does and does not happen to your credit history

Credit bureaus maintain separate files on each individual, so credit histories will not be combined when you marry. Only jointly held accounts or accounts for which one spouse is an authorized user on the other's account will appear on both credit reports. Your individual accounts remain your own.

When you apply for credit jointly (e.g., for a large loan that you'll need two incomes to support), then both of your reports will be reviewed during the application process. Even then, however, information from each report, while it may impact the outcome of getting the loan, will not become a part of the other person's individual credit history. This can work to a couple's advantage in certain instances where one person's credit is less than perfect.

Managing your credit

Of course, having the chance to see your credit reports beforehand and dispute any inaccurate account information contained in them would be ideal when applying for any joint loan – big or small. Many financial experts have begun recommending credit monitoring services, which not only allow you to check your credit reports on a regular basis but conveniently notify you of potentially important changes in your credit files.  A good agency to do this is  www.annualcreditreport.com (everyone is entitled to a FREE Credit Report once per year from all 3 major credit reporting agencies.  Or you can visit TrueCredit.com

When you get your reports, check them over carefully, making sure that all of the information listed on them belongs to you and is correct. Items such as your names (and spellings), previous and current addresses, Social Security numbers, and account details all need to be reviewed for accuracy. This is the time to address inaccurate information by following the dispute instructions that are included with your reports.

While you are combing your credit histories for inaccurate negative information and acting to dispute it, it may also be a good idea to share positive information. In other words, if you have a credit card, for instance, in excellent standing and your future spouse could benefit from this bit of good credit, consider making him or her a joint account holder with you. Sharing good information like this when possible, as well as managing the negative, may help both of you when you apply for a loan or credit together in the future.

Remember, managing your credit as an individual is vital. And although your files will not merge, marriage can make this management doubly important due to the need for larger loans, and so, two incomes and two credit reports.

Make effective credit management a financial priority now. The credit savvy you gain will be a benefit to "yours," "mine," and "ours."