Tip: Free Credit Report

Once a year at annualcreditreport.com you can request a free, no strings attached, credit report from each of the three reporting agencies. Read more about this service here at the Federal Trade Commission website.

There are plenty of other sites that will provide a credit report to you and credit monitoring but this is not a free service, and not the same thing.

So ... why request an annual credit report? 

• First and foremost, to verify that the information is correct, as incorrect address, employment, payment, and credit information will affect your credit score.
• It's important to help guard against identity theft.

I don't plan to get a loan in the future or use a credit card. I still keep an eye on my credit score and the information on my credit report, for security and because a poor credit score could negatively affect my insurance rates.


I have found inconsistencies and errors on my credit report in the past, especially post-divorce. All corrections were made, easily, online and new credit reports were sent after the changes were verified and made by the credit reporting agencies.