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Credit Karma: The Credit Card Companies Aren’t Going to Like This…

June 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

Awhile back I wrote an article about Credit Karma and how you can now access your TransUnion credit score for free through their site. This is a legitimate site unlike some of the other companies out there who try to get you to enroll in a monthly membership before you can see your score.

I got an email from Credit Karma today announcing their Approval Odds Program:

Ever wondered how credit card companies decide who to approve? Well, Credit Karma has been busy crunching billions of data points and we’ve come up with a way to help you avoid being declined for a credit card.

Introducing Approval Odds

•Tailored. Credit Karma uses key factors from your credit profile and some mind-numbing math to calculate your approval odds for over 30 of our top credit cards.

•Up Front. The Approval Odds badge appears right next to Credit Karma’s credit card offers to help you understand how likely you are to be approved for that offer.

•Credit Smart. Too many inquiries on your credit report can impact your credit health. Following the badges to the best offer is a good way to keep inquiries down by avoiding declined applications.

And just like the rest of Credit Karma, this is a completely free new feature. Just update your score every month and Credit Karma will instantly calculate your latest Approval Odds.

If you didn’t get your credit score when I wrote about Credit Karma awhile back, get on over there and access your score! Then come back here and leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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Filed Under: Blog, Credit Reports, Personal Finance Tagged With: ,

What is a Good Credit Score? Get Your Credit Score for Free & Find Out How You Rank

May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Woohoo! I’m always happy when I find new resources. Especially when they are FREE!!!! Today I have something really good to share with you.

But before you keep reading, you gotta promise me your going to do what I recommend in this post. Today. Don’t put it off. Don’t wait until later. You really gotta do it today, it’s that important!

Promise?!

Pinkie swear?!

Credit Reports & Credit Scores (Two Different Things)

Haha ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on. I’ve written before about obtaining your credit report  from Annualcreditreport.com. This is the site where you can get a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus once every year.  But the one downfall from this site is you are not able to get your credit score for free. You can see all the activity on your report, just not your score, without paying for it. Which is a bummer because if you want to know what your score is (and you should) before going to apply for a car loan, home loan etc. you gotta pay for it.

Now there is another site that will give you your score for free.

The site is called CreditKarma.com where you can input your information and get access to your TransUnion credit score, for free! That means you can take your free credit report from Annualcreditreport.com and your free credit score from CreditKarma.com and have a true look at your financial situation, for free.

Take Action

Now this is the part I mentioned earlier, you actually have to do this step in order to make a difference in your finances. Why am I so adamant about this?

Your credit effects many areas of your life and if you have errors on your credit report (which many people do) it can be hurting you financially. It literally takes minutes to get access to both your report and your score and after you have that information, you can start to assess your financial situation. I wrote about this in my previous article on credit reports, so please take a look at that article for more information.

How does CreditKarma.com work?

It’s actually very simple. Once you visit the site, you enter your information, and within minutes, you have access to your TransUnion credit score. The site tries to sell you on other ways they will help save you money (which is how they can offer the score for free) so you can look at that or disregard it, it’s up to you. In all likelihood, most of the things they are trying to sell you, you can do yourself.

If you’ve never looked at your credit score before, the site is actually very user friendly. You will get to see your score along with your credit rating so you can tell if you have a good credit score. (This picture is from their example page, it’s not my info). As I mentioned, they will show you ways they claim to save you money but I don’t really pay attention to that.

 

 

You will also be able to see how your score compares nationally. (From their example page, it’s not my info).

 

The site has a lot of information and looks to be very helpful if you have questions about your credit report.

Need more help with personal finances? Check out my Budget Bootcamp!



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Your Credit Report: How To Handle A Dispute & Why You Should Do So

May 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Your credit report can have an impact on many areas of your life. Your credit report is accessed when obtaining a loan, employment and insurance (and many other times) to get a peek at your financial situation.  As you can see, the information in your credit report can affect many areas of your life, so it’s important to keep track of what’s in it!

If you find information that is incorrect for any reason, it’s your job to dispute that information in order to have it removed from the report. Only you are looking out for your own credit rating, so it’s to your advantage to pay attention to your report.

How To Get Your Credit Report

There are actually three credit reporting agencies. They are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.  The information in each report can be different, so it’s important to pay attention to all three. If you haven’t checked your credit report lately, now is a good time to do so!

The fastest way to get a copy of your credit report is to visit AnnualCreditReport.com, where you’re entitled to receive a copy of each of your three reports for free once per year. The report is free, but if you want to see your score you will have to pay to do so. If you haven’t been following what’s in your credit reports, start out by requesting all three reports at once, because the information they contain can actually vary quite significantly, depending on who has reported what to them. The differences from one report to the next can amount to a significant credit score difference.

Review the Report for Accuracy

Once you order your credit report, expect to wait 2-4 weeks until it is delivered. When you get the report, check all three credit reports carefully in search of incorrect or inaccurate information. Any detail that isn’t right should be changed, even if it’s just a wrong address, because these pieces of information can have an impact on how lenders view you.

Dispute Any Wrong Information

If you find information that needs to be changed in your credit report, the next step is to contact the agency in charge of that specific report. It can take some time to dispute incorrect information, so the sooner you begin, the better.

If you find a problem with one of your reports, you will need to write a dispute letter to get the information corrected. You can find sample dispute letters online that will give you a good starting point for writing this letter. Be professional and include all of the necessary proof that the information is incorrect so the credit agency can make the change.  Include copies of any documents that support your position. Do not include the originals.

The Dispute Process

Typically, the credit agency (Experian, Equifax, or Trans Union) will contact the company that reported the false information, and an investigation will follow to determine whether or not the information is inaccurate. This may take some time. Be prepared to follow up if necessary to ensure the process is carried out. Afterall, no one has a bigger stake in your credit report being correct than you do!

Accounts That Are Not Reported

If not all of your credit accounts are being reflected on your credit file, then you may want to ensure that missing information is added. You can achieve this by contacting the companies that aren’t reporting your credit history and asking them to begin reporting for you. Not every company is going to want to report this information for you, so it can take some time for you to have this information added to your account. However, if you’re diligent, you should be able to have the information added.

Follow up!

I can not stress how important the follow up process is! If you have not heard anything from the credit reporting agency in 30 days, make sure to follow up. If you need to, put a reminder in your personal calendar so you don’t forget.

Once you’ve obtained and corrected past information in your reports, you can stay updated by spreading out your credit report requests to every 4 months. Simply request your report from one of the credit reporting agencies every 4 months, and over the course of a year, you’ll have received all three. Of course, correct important mistakes in all 3 of them if you find an error.

Your credit score can have a big impact on your life. It can determine the rate you pay on a home or car, your insurance or even your next job. Checking your report regularly will help to make sure your report is error free. While it may seem like a hassle at first, it will pay off in the long run!

Print this handy Credit Report Guide so you can keep a reminder to check your credit report regularly.

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