I highly recommend everybody get a free credit score check at least once a year. I've had numerous errors on my credit report over the years which negatively hurt my score. Getting them corrected was crucial to keeping my credit score high.
One time, I had a delinquent payment due to an unpaid $8 utility bill. I had no idea the bill even existed. It hit my account after my tenant moved out of my rental and he didn't know that there was a residual amount due.
The reason I discovered it in the first place was when I was refinancing a property. My credit score came back lower than I expected. And a stressful investigation process uncovered that billing glitch.
That delinquent bill dragged down my credit score by 100 points. In addition, it almost cost me $50,000 in mortgage refinance savings over 10 years!
If I had regularly gotten a free credit score check, I could have caught the issue much sooner.
Protect Yourself With A Free Credit Score Check
Studies show that 30% of all credit reports are wrong! And my experience is a perfect example. That bill shouldn't have been under my name. And it should have been paid ages before it was finally brought to my attention.
Good credit is essential for student loans, auto financing, credit card rates, and getting the lowest mortgage possible.
You can check the latest mortgage rates for free with Credible. They have one of the largest lending marketplaces today. And, the company is the best performing publicly traded mortgage company today.
The difference in a good credit score and a bad credit score could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest expense over your entire borrowing history.
Furthermore, it is shocking to find out that the average credit score for a rejected mortgage application is 729. Banks have become very stringent with mortgage loans and refinancing. This is why you need to actually know your credit score in order to improve your credit score.
Benefits Of Checking Your Credit Regularly
Here are a few key benefits of getting a free credit score check on a regular basis.
1) Protection against credit and identity theft.
2) To make sure you don't have an errors on your report which unfairly hurt your credit.
3) Shows whether you have any liens on your credit which prevent you from getting a loan.
4) Prepares you for what you need to do to improve your credit.
5) Prevents you from wasting time during a mortgage application process which might not go through.
6) Gives you bargaining power when taking out a car loan or a loan for any other high ticket merchandise.
Further Reading
Here are some additional articles for further reading.
- Historical Average Credit Score Over Time
- Best Financial Tool Online To Grow Net Worth And Track Finances
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Or Chase Sapphire Reserve? The Right Card For You
Check Your Credit Score Today
Check out your Experian credit score today for just $1 with enrollment in Experian CreditWorksSM. Experian is one of the big three credit score bureaus.
You should always be vigilant in protecting your credit score and make sure you have a clean credit report.
About the Author: Sam worked in finance for 13 years. He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from The College of William & Mary and got his MBA from UC Berkeley. In 2012, Sam was able to retire at the age of 34 largely due to his investments that now generate roughly $250,000 a year in passive income. He spends time playing tennis, taking care of his family, and writing online to help others achieve financial freedom too.
FinancialSamurai.com was started in 2009 and is one of the most trusted personal finance sites on the internet with over 1.5 million organic pageviews a month and growing. Financial Samurai has been featured in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The LA Times.