Your free credit bureau report might easily be your most important weapon in your personal financial arsenal! Your credit report tells you how well banks and lenders think you're doing financially, it give you a head up on keeping your identity safe, and also gives you security about purchases that you may not have made, but which have been erroneously credited to one of your accounts.
In sum, your free credit bureau report is like a window into your credit history and your financial worthiness.
It is essentially a sort of snapshot of where you are in terms of personal finance and money.
Of course, everyone, or virtually everyone has a credit card, wants to buy a car on time, or even finance a house at some point.
Wise use of credit cards and credit to buy expensive items like automobiles and houses that most people can't afford to pay cash for is part of the American dream.
Lately, of course, through excess, we've seen that dream tarnished somewhat.
But rest assured, for better or worse, credit is part of our lives and is something that a responsible adult needs to understand how to use.
Understanding your free credit bureau report is part of being responsible about money in our society.
Not only that, but your credit score actually affects what you'll pay for loans.
It makes total sense that a lender should charge a less credit worthy person a higher interest rate than a more credit worthy person.
After all, the less credit worthy person is less likely to pay back the lender's money in a timely fashion.
This, of course, costs the lender money.
It's not only loans, however, than are affected by your credit worthiness.
The price of other intangibles like insurance is affected by your credit score, also.
As well it should be.
I think you can see why less mature, less trustworthy people are more likely to get into accidents , have house fires, and even health problems than more credit worthy people.
Responsibility and maturity go hand in hand.
Identity theft is big! Millions of Americans this year will be the victims of identity theft.
Many of them will never know it.
Why? Well, for one reason, they never check their credit report to monitor what's going on financially in their lives.
If someone assumes your identity and uses it to take out a credit card, or worse a larger loan, you'll never know it unless you monitor your credit report...
that is, until you get the bills! Rest assured! Your free credit bureau report is probably your best line of defense and intelligence in the complex and dangerous financial times we live in.
Best to keep track of your credit report!