In modern society, one of your dearest financial friends is your credit. And if you don't want your friend to stab you in the back, you need to give it some attention.
Checking Your Credit Report (For Free)
You should be checking your credit report three times ever year. You can do this for free atwww.annualcreditreport.com. Don't worry, this is a legitimate site. It is the official way to obtain your free annual credit report. And since three different companies offer you a free annual credit report, you can check it three times ever year.
Once entering a little information about yourself, your credit report will be immediately viewable and will be available for 30 days.
A Few Things To Look For
First, make sure that no accounts are listed that you didn't open. These accounts were opened by identity-stealing-house-efls!
Second, your credit report should list all inquiries to your credit score. Make sure that you can account for each of them. Everyone from bank lenders to landlords will run a credit check on you.
Third, your credit report should show you if you are late on a payment or if you have been sent to collections. It is possible that you were sent to collections and were not informed (those dirty Diana's! -- Michael Jackson reference . . .)
If you see anything on your credit report that shouldn't be there (as listed above) make sure to contact the appropriate credit bureaus and fraud alerts. Visit the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse for more detailed information.
Getting Your Credit Score
The free annual credit report does not give you a credit score. It is just a report of your accounts and account activity, etc. Most of the time, your credit score isn't free. After you have viewed your free credit report, it will offer you a credit score for a fee. Should you choose to pay the fee, you will receive a lot of helpful information about your credit score and why it is the way it is. My advice: if you are expecting to borrow a lot of money within the next year, you need to get your credit score with the accompanying explanations. You will need a while to fix any problems.
One More Thing: Junk Mail
Don't just throw away your junk mail. Sometimes this mail has important personal information. If you have a shredder, shred them. If you don't have a shredder, ask one of the ninja turtles to take care of it instead (-- Ninja Turtle reference). You can opt out of pre-approved credit card offers by calling this number: 1-888-5OPTOUT or 1-888-567-8688.
Bye bye!
Most timely, Master Giblets. Good words.
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