All over the Internet, advertised on TV and radio, and saturating magazines are advertisements for services that will help you obtain your free personal credit report.  Here’s the bottom line:  Although I don’t have personal experience with these services, if they are charging you fees, they are banking on the fact that you don’t know that you can get it for free

 

As you probably know, you are entitled to view your free personal credit report from the three reporting agencies for free once every 12 months.  Notice that I said, FOR FREE three times.  You don’t have to pay anything if you view it online.  It’s extremely easy to obtain but you don’t do it by going to one of those advertised sites.  Instead you go to a site that isn’t advertised.  It’s the official site to get your free credit report called Annualcreditreport.com.

 

The process is very easy.  Go to the above site, select your state and answer the questions.  Select all three credit reporting agencies and get each report.  Make sure to print each report and go over it with a fine tooth comb.  If you see any errors, go to each reporting agency’s website and follow the instructions to dispute the misinformation.

 

While you may be tempted to close out your unused credit cards that have been sitting idle, the credit experts recommend not closing these accounts.  Apparently it is better for your credit score to keep these accounts open  By closing your cards, it decreases the amount of credit available to you which increases your debt load.  Also, keep track of your FICO score.  Your FICO score is what qualifies you for a loan and sometimes a job.

 

The most important thing to take from this article is this:  Do not pay for your FREE personal credit reports.  It’s quick, it’s painless, and it’s free when you go to the site that is set up by the government.