Check Your Credit

How to Check Your Credit Score

When economic times are less than ideal, you may be less than enthusiastic when it comes time to check your credit. But if you want to fix the situation and really turn things around for yourself financially, monitoring and, if necessary, repairing your credit score is a fundamental starting point. Your credit score is much more complex than a simple label of “good credit” or “bad credit.” Therefore, you need to know more than simply how to check your credit; you also need to know the implications that information bears with regard to your credit worthiness and even the rate of interest you are charged for different forms of credit. The good news is that you need not be intimidated by this process. When you take the initiative to check your credit, you are actually giving yourself the power to take charge of your credit, and begin improving it…no matter what state it is currently in.

Check your credit regularly. Check your credit with all 3 major credit reporting agencies.

Most folks are familiar with the major credit reporting agencies.

• Experian
• TransUnion
• Equifax

But did you realize that many smaller entities also report on your credit?

• Utility providers
• Landlords
• Basic service providers, i.e. phone, internet, cable/satellite
• Medical collections departments

…just to name a few. That’s why it’s important to make every effort to pay even the smallest bills on time.

What They Report

Credit reporting agencies report on several aspect of your credit activities.

• Do you pay your bills on time?
• Do you pay only the minimum payment?
• How long is your credit history? If it’s good, has it always been good? If it’s bad, how long has it been bad?
• Do you have outstanding debts which remain unpaid?
• Have you written bad checks?
• Is your history steady or sporadic?
• How much open credit do you currently maintain?

These are all factors considered by any institution that may check your credit score before extending an offer of credit.

Check Your Credit AND your FICO — What’s a FICO Score?

When you check your credit report, you need to be checking your FICO score as well. A FICO score is basically a standardized way of measuring your credit worthiness, based on several of the factors listed above.

How Does a FICO Score Determine Good vs. Bad Credit?

When you check your credit score, you will be presented with a number somewhere between 300 and 850. This number represents your FICO score, and will be used by creditors to determine:

• Whether or not an offer of credit is to be extended
• The terms of credit offer (i.e. interest rates and payment terms)

It’s important to note here that potential employers may also check credit score as a part of eligibility screening for certain industries and positions.

A FICO score of 650 or above is generally considered good, while scores over 700—and especially over 720—are eligible for most forms of credit. When you check your credit and it shows that you have weak or poor credit, click here to fix bad credit scores!! The first step though is to get your credit report.

How to Get a Copy of Your FICO Score

Federal law requires the major credit reporting agencies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once a year, but to check your credit score you may be required to pay a small fee. Especially if you are attempting to repair your credit, a monthly fee may be required for access to regular monitoring of your credit score, but that service will be worth every penny in the long run when you find yourself once again in the 700+ range.

So, don’t be afraid to check your credit score—it’s the first step in building the credit rating you deserve!

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