Credit Card Debt Management

Last night marked a tense moment in marital history. My husband needed to check his credit report to apply for a job that requires extensive background information. After logging on to AnnualCreditReport.com, he discovered that someone (don’t look at me!) had already used up his three free credit report checks over the past year. He would not be eligible for another free peek at his credit report until April. We could have paid, but it’s the principle of the thing. How annoying!

Fortunately, there happened to be a saved copy of his credit report on Experian’s web site and the report number and log-in information just happened to be in my possession! Don’t know how that happened. Morals of this story:

Check your credit reports sparingly. You only get three free checks a year, so really pay attention to when you are accessing that information. Try to space it out evenly.

Don’t use up the free credit report checks of others. How rude!

Print your credit report. It is a good idea to have a hard copy of your credit report on hand. Just keep it in a safe place, away from prying eyes. Next time you check your report, you can then print off the new copy, compare it to the old copy and keep your files up to date. Checking your report throughout the year also helps you stay on top of any possible identity theft issues.

Save all pertinent information to re-access your report online. These reports are typically saved for 30 days, so consumers can log back onto the web site and review their report again within that time. Save the web site, log-in info, report number and any other details neccessary to do so. Even if you print a copy off, you’re better safe than sorry!