Keeping an eye on your credit is an important thing to do whether you have good credit, are trying to repair your credit, or are trying to build your credit for the first time. There are a plethora of websites and companies out there who will allow you access to your credit reports and scores....for a fee. Some sites don’t charge a fee initially but allow you to access your reports and scores if you sign up for a free trial for their credit monitoring services; eventually, you will either have to cancel the subscription or be automatically charged a monthly fee for continuing.
Luckily, the government has made a law that allows everyone one free copy of his or her credit report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Normally, these companies charge you a fee for each credit report of yours they generate. To get your free report (limit one per bureau per year), go to annualcreditreport.com and follow the instructions. Note that these are reports only and do not include scores.
