Your credit report details your credit history and any lines of credit (student loan, mortgage, vehicle loan, credit card, etc.) that have been opened in your name. Lenders use these reports in their processes to determine if you are worthy to be approved for the loan that you’re applying for and what interest rate to offer you.
With the data hacks that took place or were disclosed in 2017 (most notably Equifax and Yahoo!) it is becoming more and more important to ensure that your identity hasn’t been stolen and that someone hasn’t opened a line of credit in your name.
How do you do this?
You are entitled to one free credit report from each of the 3 major credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) once per year via annualcreditreport.com. You can pull your credit report from the website and check for any discrepancies.
Drew’s Method:
I pull my credit report in January, May, and September. Each time I pull the report I pull from a different credit bureau. Eg. January pull from Equifax, May pull from Experian, September pull from TransUnion. This way, I’m able to check my report throughout the year and never have to pay for it.
