5 Simple Steps to Check your Credit Report

Your credit report is like a photo album of your financial life, a snapshot of your financial past.

Reading and understanding your credit report will help you see mistakes in the past and be able to increase your score.

What is included in your Credit Report?

Your credit report includes personal information to identify you by address and previous addresses as well as your social security number.

This is how the credit report companies track your financial history and make sure another persons' debts don’t go on your report.

 It provides information on your payment history as well as any payments missed. It also shows the number of times someone checked your credit over the past two years.

Check your Credit Report Step 1: Get your Free Annual Credit Report

It’s easy to get your credit report each year from annualcreditreport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228 to request your report by mail.

Check your Credit Report Step 2: Understanding your Credit Report

Once you’ve got your credit report, it’s helpful to understand what factors affect your credit score. There are five factors that affect your credit score.

–  Payment history  – Total credit owed –  Length of credit history  –  New credit accounts and inquiries  –  Types of credit 

Check your Credit Report Step 3: Check each Creditor

The first thing you need to do is check every account on your credit report to make sure you recognize the creditor.

Any credit cards or accounts you’ve closed should show on your credit report as well. This is a good way to make sure those accounts were actually closed by the company when you called instead of being left open.

Swipe up to learn more!

Best Credit Monitoring Services to Stop Identity Theft

Setting Financial Priorities and a Budget You Can Keep

5 Ways to Find Free Money around the House

Read More