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Don't skip your annual credit check up!

03/25/2017

By: Lorene Turnquist

You do lots of preventative maintenance each year. You get the oil changed on your car. You get your teeth cleaned. You get an annual physical. But do you look at your credit every year? If you’re not, you should be.

Your good credit influences so many more things than just your ability to get a car loan, a credit card or a mortgage. It will dictate how much you pay for credit, the cost of auto insurance premiums and utility deposits. It can even make the difference in renting an apartment or landing your dream job.

Now that you’re convinced this is something you need to tend to, how best to go about it? Let’s look at the options.

  1. Do it yourself. I know I like DIY projects but you might want to rethink. You can go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com and get your reports free from each of the three credit bureaus yearly. These don’t show as inquiries on your credit report. This is a good strategy to look for errors or entries that don’t belong to you. But where it is lacking is guiding you in developing a plan to improve your credit score and identifying where you may be paying too much. And these reports you get do not contain your credit score. It is free and it is a good tool but there are limits in what it can accomplish.
  2. Enlist a credit repair company for help. These companies generally charge you a fee for their services. They can help you resolve disputes and remove listings that are wrong. These are things you could do on your own and you could save a few bucks. But just as with the DIY method, you’re not going to accomplish much else.
  3. Use our free Credit Check Up service. First, it’s free. Second, you know we’ve got your back. Third, we will help you to identify errors and guide you thru the process of resolving those. Fourth, we will explain what factors on your report are driving your credit score and give you suggestions to build that score over time. And fifth, we will look at how much you’re paying for credit and make recommendations to reduce those costs.

We don’t do these Credit Check Ups just to sell you more stuff. Not at all. We do it because it is the right thing to do. This is our area of expertise and as your credit union, we believe it is our duty to share this with you and fulfill our mission of improving your financial well-being.

Don’t skip this check up! If you would like our help, make that appointment today!