Getting a credit score is easier than you think, and doesn’t have to burn a hole in your pocket either. Credit scores and credit reports are a hot topic right now and more than ever there are plenty of resources both free and paid that will give a person the information they need to make smart money decisions. Remember, your credit score is essentially a numerical grading of your financial credibility. The score is based on the information contained in your credit report; the higher it is the less you will pay in interest rates, saving money and hassles.
Tips for how to get your credit score
- Credit reports and credit scores are separable. Annualcreditreport.com is where you can request a copy of a credit report from each of the major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. After viewing the credit report that is requested, you can purchase a credit score. The credit reports are free, the score is not. If you use this service, you may request free reports once per year, and it is best to request all three at the same time to compare accuracy and reporting. The credit reports can be different from one another.
- Some banks offer free credit reports and scores at different times of the year as a perk for being their customer. Contacting your bank to inquire about these services never hurts.
- 3-in-1 credit monitoring services are a great tool, not only can a person view their reports, score, and even receive alerts, it is a regular year round service meaning changes to your credit are always known right away. When asking “how do I get my credit score?” a 3-in-1 service is usually a good answer.
- There are sites that offer trial periods to obtain free credit reports and scores. As long as you remember to cancel a subscription before being charged, they are free. These free scores are educational scores. They are not the same as the score that most lenders commonly use which is a report from any of the three credit bureau’s that is based on the FICO scoring method, but they are close and will give you a pretty accurate idea of your financial capability.
What to do when requesting a score
- Consider that the time of month that a score is pulled could affect the score. If there are a lot of bills with a very high balance coming due, or if something is late, the score will change. Understand that the score you pull can and will change over time.
- Credit reporting agencies calculate scores differently. Remember that the agency you pull from might differ from the one chosen by a lender. If you are pulling a score before requesting a loan, you can ask the lender which credit bureau they use, otherwise checking all three scores might be a good idea.
- If you want to see your credit score at the best it could be currently, be sure to ask the companies who you have open credit lines with, when they report your payments to the credit bureaus, and after bills are paid for that month submit the request.
- Carrying more than 30% of available balance will negatively affect a credit score. Pay down the balances.
There are plenty of websites out there through which you can gain access to a credit score. However, if you really want a score like the one most lenders use you are going to have to pay a small fee and purchase it from one of the credit bureaus.
Credit scores change, based on a bunch of different factors. Regularly getting your credit score is a good idea, because knowing what lenders and employers see when running a credit check is knowledge you want beforehand. It would be embarrassing to have a credit score that doesn’t reflect your payments that are always on time, because of something that was misreported by a creditor or an error in a public record, such as a judgement that does not belong to you.
Also, remember a credit score alone doesn’t give a person the full picture. Credit reports have a lot of valuable information in them that the score is calculated from. It is your credit record after all so it falls upon you to make sure the information contained within is correct. The credit bureaus are really just gatekeepers of information that is either reported to them by creditors or gathered from public sources by or for them.
To really learn and take care of credit, regularly having a score and reports at your fingertips is a best practice. This way, more than a score alone you will have the full set of information at your fingertips to make decisions from. Watching what shows up on a report each month with teach a person what is reported and when, and what changes to make to better a score.
Don’t fret if you have a less than a perfect score. Credit is something that can be fixed over time by making the proper decisions. Take heart that getting a credit score now is a good step for the future, no matter what level your score is at. Monitoring your credit, making adjustments accordingly, will help you get that score right where you want it to be.
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