Life Fright

It’s been a while since I’ve checked on my credit reports from the 3 major credit bureaus Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. I recently learned that free weekly credit reports have been made permanently available which is a good step away from only being able to request 1 free credit report from each bureau per year. These credit reports are soft inquiries which means that unlike a hard inquiry there is zero impact to your credit score. Access your credit reports via AnnualCreditReport.com (the only federally authorized site for these reports).

It is important to keep up to date with the information in these reports in order to prevent cases of identity theft which can negatively impact your credit score. Your credit score is important information lenders use to assess whether you are a good candidate for a loan or credit card application. This score can fluctuate based on: how much debt you have at a given time, the time in which the debt gets paid off, and also whether you have any new loan requests which invoke hard inquiries by the lenders. Note that the score itself will not be present in the report. Scores (like FICO) can be available to view through your bank, your credit card issuer, or creating an account with one of the credit bureaus.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Please conduct your own research and due diligence before making any financial decisions.