Log In This is an interesting article about credit reports. It claims that 1 in 3 Americans have never checked their credit reports. This is something that I do every year around tax season. Something else my wife talked to me about, you should check your kids credit reports as well. Sometimes people can get your child's social security number and use it illegally. Since most people wont even apply for a credit card until their 18, someone could be using your child's social security for years without getting noticed.
I had never checked my report until recently now I check it as much as I can. And I have no idea about the social thing that is crazy!
It tends to be more important when you need to make major purchases. When we bought our house I was very concerned about my credit rating. Now that I don't think I'll be making a major purchase for a few more years. I'm not too concerned about it. The most important reason is to make sure that no one's using your info illegally.
I check my credit score and report once a year. I make sure everything is correct. Sometimes, the credit bureaus will put someone else's creditor on the wrong person's report.
I used to not care about my credit report until I had my first credit credit, which was about 7 years ago when I started to check my credit report every year. I try not to think too much about my credit score because it does give me a chill if it's too low. I think it's a good idea to check the credit report every year in order to find out what you will have to do with your credit score.
Why wouldn't you though? Its not like it takes a lot of effort or something. It is for reasons like this that I am not surprised when I hear of people racking up huge credit card bills. Apathy towards the idea of being careful isn't very smart when it comes to money.
I just today helped a friend to check her score. We used the Credit Karma site which is free, does not ask for a credit card and I understand accessing it there does not effect your score. It seems to be a good idea to do now and then. Hers was much higher than she imagined. That would be a nice surprise.
I think this just truly shows the full extend of the financial skills of our people. I think that we should start teaching financial "housekeeping" skills classes for highschoolers, specially the seniors.
I think that the main reason behind such stats is that most people ignore that they are allowed to request an annual free credit report. If you do a quick search for credit report, you will find countless companies that offer it, but most of us know that there are only three credit reporting agencies; Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. All others are companies offering to get your credit report requesting themselves such report and charging a give amount of money. Here is where many people fearing to get charged for the credit report prefer to omit getting theirs. Therefore is mostly lack of information the reason why they never check their credit report.
This actually happened to me. When I turned 18 and tried to apply for my first credit card, as well as for student loans for college, I was turned down due to outstanding debt. Turns out that "I" was 24k in debt! It was a huge nightmare to resolve and almost cost me my student loan eligibility. I would definately suggest parents check the credit reports of their children - after learning this lesson the hard way, I know that I will check my future kid's reports.
It is a good idea to check your credit report yearly to confirm the information on the report is correct. The information on the report maybe wrong which can cause you a problem when you need to apply for credit. Idenity theft is big business and hard to fix if someone steals your information. Checking your credit report regularly is one way to stay current and limit any damage done if some gets your information.
Everyone is entitled to a free credit report check. I always check mine yearly as you never know what can happen. Now, I wish that they gave you your credit score for free.
