Checking Your Credit Score Regularly
Emails, oil in a car, and lotto numbers, but how often do you check your credit report?
More often than not, people only think of checking their credit scores whenever they are eyeing on big ticket items. It is not and will never be an ideal practice. A credit repost is one of the most essential financial records we have as consumers. With your credit score in hand, you are able to monitor your current financial situation and can do something about it should it come out ugly.
The only time people even talk about their credit score is when they want to buy a big ticket item. A credit report is the most important financial record. It is your only tool to monitor and improve your financial situation.
The main reasons why having your credit score checked regularly is strongly recommended are for accuracy purposes and to detect any fraud. You are entitled to your free annual credit reports that you can obtain from the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
Credit bureaus sometimes have the tendency to have errors in their reports, so you need to exert your own effort to avoid any discrepancies that might hurt your financial standing in the future if not fixed. Here is a rough list of the common mistakes these credit bureaus make.
-False missed payments
-Outdated bank information
-Duplicate accounts
-Missing accounts
-Negative records that are more than seven years back
-Phantom accounts or ones that you don’t actually own
With regard to fraud issues, you should make it a point to keep track of the number of inquiries requested on your account. If a specific request looks unfamiliar, then there might be someone else requesting for your credit score without your knowledge. Those people might use your name and social security number in buying items, open bank accounts, stuff like that.
As for fraud, make sure you track the number of inquiries requested on your account. If you are not familiar with the requests made on your account, then someone else is requesting your credit score. Your name and or your social security number might be used to purchase items, open bank accounts, or credit cards.
Regardless of the errors and identity theft, checking your credit score regularly should be in your list so you would be able to improve if you are not satisfied.