Thanks to the folks at Experian, better known as the freecreditreport.com guys, the word has spread that you are entitled to and SHOULD look at your credit report every year. But how many of us have actually done this? Not as many as you might think. So, why am I harping about it? Credit plays such a vital role in where our money goes that it is virtually impossible to corral your finances without getting a handle on your credit. This can determine more than just your interest rates, like how high your monthly payments are on EVERYTHING and even what you can drive and where you’ll live. Employers are now looking at credit scores as a key to how reliable you are.

I guided my boyfriend through this process recently and can save you a few saddle sores trying to figure out how to get this done. First, what report should you get and when? There are two approaches to this. You can either get all three of them at once, and then have to wait another year to be able to get them for free again, OR you can request them in a sequenced method through the year. The advantage of getting them all at once is that you can reign-in the entire herd and be done with it for a year. This does make for a bigger project. The disadvantage is that you have to wait a year before you can check the results of your efforts. You can always purchase these reports for a fairly nominal fee, but we’re looking to put that cash in the stable, not turn it out to pasture.

As an alternative, request one credit report every four months. The advantages here are many.  Breaking-in one agency at a time allows you to focus on one report, leading to a more accurate report and a report that is more in your favor. Also, though you’ll spend the same amount of time you would have had you gotten them all at once, it won’t feel like such back-breaking work because it’ll be done in shifts. The last big plus is that you have four months in between reports that will give time for your efforts to bear fruit and you can see your score rise and errors fall as you get more reports. The score is a byproduct of what is in the reports. Muck out the reports and the score will rise by default.

Now that you’ve decided what reports to get, there are a variety of ways to go about getting your credit score. If you are good with the Internet, the best website is www.annualcreditreport.com. This website will walk you through requesting reports from up to all three major credit reporting agencies. You answer a few questions and you could have immediate access to your reports online. Some of the questions they ask you include things like who gave you loans in the past and what the payments are. If you took the advice in my previous columns, then you’ve got that info handy. If not, then you’re going to want to find that before you start.

For those old-hand types, or those of us that have moved around a lot, you’ll probably have to send in additional information identifying yourself. If your online request bucks you off at first, there are still a couple of options. Each agency will send you a request to verify your information by doing things such as sending in copies of certain identification: driver’s license, State ID, social security card, utility bill, etc.). Just fill in the form, send them the requested material, and your report will be mailed to you. If you prefer to handle things on paper click here for a form to submit that will allow you to request up to all three reports with one mailing. They may still send you a request for verification, but once you do this, your file will be updated and, unless you move, you shouldn’t have to do it again. There are customer service numbers on their websites, but I only found one of them to be really useful.

Once your reports are on their way back to the ranch, we’ve got a three part series for you on how to thoroughly muck out your credit report and put you well on track to blue ribbon credit. Next week, we’ll look at creating a realistic budget that takes into account the values you have FOR your money, not just OF your money, and how you can get your budget to align with those values. Until then, give your haunches a rest and keep collecting those receipts. Your hard work and sticking to your money diet is about to start paying off.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/order?mail

Valoración de los usuarios: / 0
PobreEl mejor