Time for a Credit Check?
Recently, we talked about taking the time to sit down and get a better picture as to who and how much you owe — a credit check can help you do that. The question becomes, “Did I forget anyone?” It is easy to remember the creditors who flood your mailbox every month with their latest reminder that they still want your money. However, there may be creditors out there that we either accidentally or wishfully forgot about.
This debt could be an old utility bill from your apartment 10 years ago; or something from that time when you went to the emergency room; or there may be bills out there that you simply don’t remember. Just because you forgot about them, does not mean they forgot about you. As we make 2016 the year we fix our finances, we must try and uncover these forgotten demons before they come back to haunt us.
With that in mind, the next step on the road to financial fitness is to get a checkup, that is to say a credit checkup. There are three major bureaus responsible for reporting our credit history. These three bureaus are Transunion, Equifax, and Experian. The information contained in their reports can mean the difference between renting versus owning your home as well as determining what interest rate you qualify for on a car loan and more. While the majority of the information contained in each of the reports is the same, there can be differences. That is why it is important to obtain a report from each one.
The easiest way to obtain these reports is online. Be careful, there are many websites out there that will try and trick you into paying for these reports. That is a mistake. Every twelve months, you are allowed a free credit report from each of these bureaus. We recommend that you visit www.annualcreditreport.com. In a matter of minutes, you can access all three reporting agencies and see what is being reported about you and your finances. If you do not have internet access, you can obtain these reports by mail.
For a free budgeting guide or if you have any questions. Contact Zalutsky & Pinski, Ltd. at 312-767-0111 via email at News@zaplawfirm.com or on the web at ZAPBillsNow.com.
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