Your credit score judges you and that is why it is important to have it as high as possible. It would be hard pressed to live in the United States and not be influenced, positive or negatively by your credit score. The obvious examples would be applying for a car loan, or mortgage. However, these days, your credit score will also determine if you will land that dream job or not. Going through life with bad credit is possible but it is also very limiting.
How often Should you Monitor Your Credit Score?
Most people guard the money in their wallets closer than they do their credit score. Identity theft is rising and if you have decent credit, you are a target. There is so much riding on a good credit score that it just makes sense to make sure your score is in good shape. One of the ways to do that is to keep track of your credit score and to make sure there are no errors on your credit report.
Your credit score doesn’t change daily although daily actions can lead to significant changes in your score. Most lenders report to the credit agencies once a month and even then there won’t be a substantial change in your score, so monitoring your credit report and score every three months is a good habit. Equifax has a system in place to send an email or text alert to your cell phone if there is any changes in your FICO score or credit report. It would be wise to sign up for that service.
How to Get your Free Credit Report
A quick search online for a free credit report will send back plenty of sites with promises that are sometimes too good to be true. Although these sites can offer a free report once a year, they don’t provide a FICO credit score, which is more accurate than the generic guesses. Most people only inquire about their credit scores if they’re are needing financing. For a fee, you can request your report and score from each of the credit bureaus: Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. It might not be necessary to have all three. Inquire with the potential lender which agency they use and then request your report from them. However, if you are buying a home, having all three reports is a good idea since most mortgage lenders use all three to make their decision.
By law, you can obtain a free credit report if you are denied credit. You are also entitled, by law, to have a copy of your credit report each year at no cost. Get in the habit of requesting your free copy each year to safeguard your credit. Scribing to a services such as the one mentioned above, will also alert you if anyone applies for credit in your name.
How to Get your Credit Score
The easiest way to receive your FICO Score is through myfico.com.
It is never too Late to Improve Your Credit Score
Your credit score is forgiving. That means that it is never too late to improve it. The whole concept of credit reports and credit scoring can be intimidating to most. However, once you realize what actions to take to improve your score, you might find the challenge both rewarding and stimulating.
Taking the necessary steps to improve your credit will be one of the best decisions you could make. Although it won’t happen overnight, with a few basic steps you will be on the path to creditworthiness.
Request your credit report from each of the credit bureaus and examine each one for any errors. If you do find something that shouldn’t be there, dispute it in writing. A good practice is to send a copy of your credit report with the error highlighted in yellow or circled. They in turn have 30 days to investigate by contacting the lender or remove disputed information from your credit report–Many errors have been found in this manner and removed–improving a person’s score.
Bring your outstanding accounts current as quickly as possible. Communicate with your lenders and ask for a payment arrangement or an extension, anything that will help you stay current and prevent them from reporting you as delinquent. If you have delinquent accounts, don’t hide–communication is the best defense to getting closer to improving your credit.
Check out <a href=”http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-5347959-10534148″ target=”_blank”>FreeCreditScore.com</a><img src=”http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-5347959-10534148″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″/> and <a href=”http://annualcreditreport.com” target=”_blank”>annualcreditreport.com</a>.