Author Topic: Monitoring your credit score  (Read 3555 times)

Pollyanna

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Monitoring your credit score
« on: June 20, 2014, 06:49:58 AM »
Hello Mustachians!  I am looking for "best practice" when it comes to monitoring one's credit score.  I have done the free annual reports, and understand that paying for this service (and insurance) isn't worth it.  What better crowd to solicit advice from than this group!   What do each of you do, if anything?   Our only debt is our mortgage and I am not looking for anything in particular as far as upcoming debt, this is more of a general question on protection of my score against identity theft. 

Jack

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2014, 07:26:32 AM »
I get each of my credit reports every 6 months for free (once per year because of Federal law, plus once per year because of Georgia state law) and use CreditKarma.com.

Doomspark

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2014, 07:36:29 AM »
I draw all three reports twice a year - once in my name, once in my wife's.

frugaliknowit

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2014, 07:44:28 AM »
I keep my credit "frozen", which means no one can apply for credit in my name (fraudulently).  I run my reports here and there and Discover puts my fico score on my statement.

The only inconvenience with frozen credit is that when you want to allow someone to legitimately check your credit, you have to go on-line and do a "temporary un-freeze" to let them in.  This costs $10 per credit bureau (sometimes the creditor will tell you which bureau to "unfreeze", so you only need to unfreeze one; usually you have to unfreeze all 3 which will cost you $30).

Another Reader

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2014, 08:05:42 AM »
Since you want to monitor the score, try Credit Karma.  It's free, you just have to put up with a bunch of advertising and "advice," which is really just more advertising.  They use the Trans Union credit database.  Credit Sesame is similar, and it uses the Experian database.  However, the site is less friendly and they are now pushing a paid subscription service with more features.   Both will send you alerts when something changes in the credit file.


taekvideo

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2014, 10:51:50 AM »
Since you want to monitor the score, try Credit Karma.  It's free, you just have to put up with a bunch of advertising and "advice," which is really just more advertising.  They use the Trans Union credit database.  Credit Sesame is similar, and it uses the Experian database.  However, the site is less friendly and they are now pushing a paid subscription service with more features.   Both will send you alerts when something changes in the credit file.

Credit karma is good for getting alerts about changes in your credit file, but their score isn't even close to accurate.  The one they gave me was over 100 points away  from all 3 of my real ones.

Numbers Man

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Re: Monitoring your credit score
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2014, 11:59:41 AM »
If you're really concerned about your credit score and probably identity theft then run a free credit report once every 4 months. There are 3 major credit reporting agencies so rotate through each of them annually.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!