Friday, September 26, 2008

Can You Really Afford Not To Get Your Free Credit Report?

By David T. Johnson


Today's world requires that you have good credit for several reasons including, but not limited to getting insurance, getting loans and believe it or not you need good credit most of the time if you want to land a good job! The reason so many decisions are based on your credit score is they want to see how trust worthy you have been in handling financial decisions in your past because this gauges what you are most likely going to do in the future. It boils down to this. If you have a good credit report you are likely to be considered a low risk for giving a loan to you and also for giving a job to you.

Normally, the financial organization that you try borrowing money from are the ones that will check your credit report in order to see if they can trust you with the loan you are applying for as well as make a decision on whether they can approve you for a new credit card or not. They simply 'run your credit' and decide whether they should 'run from you' or not. It is a quick process and decisions are rendered very quickly.

Logically, you would want to have an idea of what is on your credit report before somebody or an organization is going to see it to make a financial decision that could make or break you. Right? If you have something negative then if you know it ahead of time you can prepare and explain the situation that caused the blight on your credit. This is always better than then being surprised by something negative on your report.

You could think your credit is great, but in the era of ID theft you can never be sure. ID theft is the number one reported crime to the FTC. And today's technology makes it shockingly easy for somebody to get your identity and do fraudulent things so fast that you do not even know it occurred until it is too late. It is cyper pick pocketing and the best defense really is a good offense by regularly looking at your credit score to track whether you have become a victim of a cyber pick pocket.

Another reason is that sometimes, some credit bureaus tend to make a mistake with the report. This can be quite bad for your record as they may put in some purchases that you didn't actually make. By checking and comparing the different credit reports, you will be able to know whether there are any irregularities in the report. If you find something odd in your credit report, you can challenge it and get your credit score repaired.

Good news is there are really only the big three credit reporting agencies that you will need to request your free credit report from. The bad news is there are only the big three. Since there is only the big 3 credit agencies they basically have a monopoly on your credit score so you better play by their rules. The 3 are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. As mentioned before you can get your report Free on an annual basis.

As you can see, it is quite important for you to get a free credit report. By doing so, you will not only be able to check whether you are becoming a victim of identity theft as well as have knowledge about your credit score, but you will also be able to fix your credit score if there are any irregularities in the reports.

This only touches on a few of the numerous benefits of getting your free online instant credit report. Being able to sleep at night knowing that you and your credit score is protected is worth more than words can say. Because with a good credit score you can leverage life in so many ways, but with a bad credit score, you will have doors closed that you would want to go through. Protecting your credit is just that important.

Remember these tips and you can be sure that you will be able to obtain your credit report and also make sure that you have a good credit score or rating before you actually apply for a loan or a credit card.

How much is enough you ask? The answer is there is no such thing as enough precautions when it comes to protecting your credit score. Paranoia is good when it comes to watching your credit history because your credit score is basically your financial axis that your financial world spins around. Besides, you can get the credit report absolutely free. That makes this a no brainer.

True learning is defined by acting on what has been discovered. Knowledge without action is the equivalent of ignorance. I hope you take accurate actions to protect your financial future and get your free credit report as well as get a system to watch over your credit score today.

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