Your credit score not only affects whether you can borrow money or not but it can also be used to determine whether or not you can get a job. Yes, it is that unfair. Not having a job, leading to poor credit due to unpaid bills can prevent you from getting a job that will let you pay your bills. The system is flawed but it is the system we have to live with.
Do I Really Need Good Credit?
You actually don’t need to worry about your credit score if you never intend to borrow money. If you pay cash for everything your credit score only comes into affect in rare circumstances. There are many financial gurus out there writing books explaining how to live a credit free life. If you aren’t ready to go completely credit free, then you need to be aware your credit score will be used to evaluate your worthiness when you attempt to buy a car, set up a mobile phone service, set up cable service, buying a home, and pretty much everything where someone needs to trust you with expensive things you haven’t fully paid for.
What Is The One Simple Thing I Can Do To Fix My Credit?
In order to start repairing your credit, you need to know what is on your credit report. Once every twelve months you are allowed to get a copy of your credit report from the three big credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This wasn’t always the case. Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), these companies are required to give you a free copy. To get your free copy of your credit report do one of the three following things
- Visit annualcreditreport.com
- Call 1-877-322-8228
- Or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and send it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Beware of imposter websites which will try to make you pay for copies. These websites use ‘free credit report’ in their url or intentionally misspell annualcreditreport.com to attempt to trick people. With your credit report in hand, you can see what is being held against you, what is driving your credit score down, and what you will need to address to start fixing your credit. Also, you will be able to see signs of identity theft. The first thing you will do after going over your credit report is dispute anything inaccurate. Removing erroneous entires is vital to repairing your credit. You now know you need to get your credit report every year. Put it on your calendar. Consider reviewing your credit report as part of a yearly financial check-up with your taxes.
