If you’re anything like me, you’ll probably have a hard time believing the title of this post. That’s easy to understand. We’re constantly bombarded with commercials online, on the radio, and on television that supposedly offer free credit scores and free credit reports. They even have the word ‘free’ in their web addresses. But when you go to their sites to check them out, you find out that they aren’t really free at all!
Well, today I’m going to point you to an honest-to-goodness FREE credit score and an equally honest-to-goodness FREE credit report. These sites will NOT ask you for a credit card number because they do NOT charge you!
Clearly, knowing your own credit standing is a critical step in the process of buying a home or of refinancing. And staying aware and up to date, watching for changes, just generally keeping tabs on your own financial health is a common sense thing to do.
For your free credit score (and you can keep going back for free, once a month, if you like), go to http://www.creditkarma.com The site requires you to submit basic information needed to identify yourself and it will then provide you with your current credit score. It is an advertiser-supported site, so you will see a variety of offers from various companies. But you are free to ignore the ads and focus on your score. If you like, you can drill further down and see how your score compares with others in the United States, as well as seeing you how your credit history, your percentage of credit used, and various other factors compare to others in the country.
For your free credit report, go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com This is the official credit report website that was created when the government instituted a requirement that each of the three major credit bureaus allow every US citizen to access their credit report for free, once a year. Because you are allowed to choose any of the three credit bureaus once each year, a great way to use this site is to go to the site every four months and choose a different credit bureau each time. That way, you get access to a free credit report every four months and then you start the process again the next year.
Take a few minutes and visit these sites soon! As the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power”. This is a great way for you to get some power and begin to take better control of your finances, and it is 100% FREE!
