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Check It Out

Last week, one of my credit cards companies was hacked. First I panicked. Then I Googled. Once I knew what to do, I acted fast.

I called Capital One and froze the credit card. After that I checked my credit report. Then I breathed a sigh of relief. So far, everything looks good. But this made me realize I hadn’t looked at my credit score in ages.

What about you? When’s the last time you checked your Credit Report? Even if your credit card wasn’t hacked, it’s a good idea to do it at least once a year, if not every quarter.

A Credit Report is a summary of your financial reliability, your history of paying bills.

If you’re not monitoring your credit, you’re taking a big risk. Credit makes a huge impact on everything from your insurance rates to your ability to rent an apartment or refinance a mortgage.

You might be paying higher interest rates, higher insurance premiums, or other fees because of “bad credit” that’s the result of a simple, solvable error.

There are 3 credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, Transunion. Every year, you can get a credit report at no cost on www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

If you find an error, report it to the agency immediately.

Credit scores under 400 are considered low…above 700 are considered healthy.

Have you ever found errors in your credit report? Join the conversation below.


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Comments & Feedback

  • Kim

    We got caught in the Starwood data hack. I cancelled our credit cards, then went to Equifax to check our credit rating, but they wanted way too much personal information (such as SIN) for my comfort level. I was already feeling spooked by the Starwood event, so didn’t follow through with providing my personal information to Equifax. What are your thoughts on this, Barbara? With thanks, Kim

    • Lynda

      Hi Kim,
      My name comes up as being caught in the Equifax breach. I also didn’t feel comfortable filling out all the information they wanted online (especially since they’d been breached). They did offer a paper form that you could fill out and mail in. Don’t know if that’s safer or not. I just keep a close watch on my credit. I have a Discover card and they give me my number every billing cycle.

  • barbara huson

    Oh Lordy, Kim & Lynda, I can understand your concern. I just looked at the form you have to fill out and I’d be scared to do it too. Though they promise the information is safe. But in this climate, you don’t know who to trust. I’m a member of Life Lock. I pay a few hundred dollars a year and I can log on to their site and check my credit rating. Plus, they send me alerts when there is any sign that my credit could be compromised or my identity stolen. Yes I had to fill out an extensive form, but so many people I trusted, including my professional advisors, urged me to get it, that I felt confident.

    • Kim

      Thanks Barbara and Lynda. It sounds like you both have a solution of sorts that works for you. I guess I have gotten comfortable with not knowing our credit rating, but that comfort got chipped away a bit when I read this blog! But I still don’t think I will do anything different. I track all of our expenditures – credit card and otherwise – and so I would see pretty quickly if a card or bank account were compromised. Kim

  • Evie Edman

    Hi Barbara ,
    Went to check my credit for a possible refinance and it’s appalling how they ask for your SS# when they know it already. I then went to bankrate.com and what a great resource. I was able to learn a lot about refinancing , credit scores, banking, savings accts and actually was able to get my credit score from the site and be educated on the many questions I had. They have amortization calculators for refi prognosis and for paying down your mortgage. I recommend checking it out!
    Thanks for your insightful tweets Barbara!
    Evie

  • barbara huson

    Evie, sooooo great to hear from you. Giving you a big cyber hug. This is great info. I knew bankrate is a fabulous site, full of all kinds of cool calculators. But I had no idea you could get a credit score through them. Thanks so much for sharing this info! xoxoxo

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Meet Barbara Huson

When a devastating financial crisis rocked her world, Barbara Huson knew she had to get smart about money… and she did. Now, she wants to empower every women to take charge of their money and take charge of their lives! She’s doing just that with her best-selling books, life changing retreats and private financial coaching.

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