Credit Self Help
Credit self help strategies need to begin with pulling your credit report so you know what is being reported about you and your debts.
All Americans are now eligible to receive a free copy of each of the three major credit reports on an annual basis. This is to help consumers manage their credit, but most importantly monitor it to ensure they have not fallen victim to identity theft. I encourage everyone to make this part of their annual financial planning.
Here is the website: https://www.annualcreditreport.com
They will take you through a series of questions to make sure you are who you say you are, and the questions they ask only you would know the answer to, as they pull them from your credit reports.
You will be given the option to purchase one or all 3 of your FICO scores too. I also recommend you do this, as this will tell you how banks view your credit report from a lending stand point. Are you credit worthy? I will discuss the details of FICO in a later post. For now, in order to get your credit in shape, you need to know where you currently stand.
Once you pull each of the credit reports, go through them in their entirety and ensure there are no problems, issues or mistakes. Highlight anything unusual, and I will provide steps in a later post on how to deal with any inaccuracies.
