Credit Updates Archives • Using Time Wisely

2013: Third Credit Report Update

November 3, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dan Eriksson)

With an extra hour, I hope you can find a few minutes to order your next credit report.

By adding this reminder to my scheduled during the Planning for Success series, I didn’t forget our third credit report update this year.

Thanks to the SC Department of Revenue’s security breech, our family is still receiving monthly updates from our year of free monitoring.

Though I get an e-mail listing any activity, I still request a copy of our credit reports to stay on schedule and look over all the activity on our accounts.

If you are following my recommended schedule for requesting your credit reports or are just beginning, then check the date on your previous year’s credit report before requesting a new report.

Wait at least one full year from the processing of your last request for a free report to prevent incurring a fee. For example, my Equifax report printed on October 22, 2012, so I can request another this year for FREE anytime after October 23, 2013.

In using time wisely, I request our reports every 4 (or 5) months. For this third credit report update, I requested Paul’s TransUnion report and my Equifax report. When the reports arrive, I will follow this plan:

1. Review for errors,

2. Challenge discrepancies,

3. Run a FREE TransUnion credit score for Paul,

4. Replace last year’s reports with the new reports and credit score in the first file slot of Box 1 of our important documents, and

5. Put the file box away until February’s credit check.

The first time we ordered our credit reports, they were filled with errors from wrong information to incorrect credit limits. I spent months corresponding via mail and on-line forms getting the information corrected.

It took time. But in using time wisely then, I typically spend 5 minutes or less now reviewing our credit reports. The process is simple because I spent so much time getting it right the first time.

The lesson I learned from that experience was to fix errors as soon as possible. The longer you wait the more time and research it takes the company to fix it. Nipping inaccuracies early will save you frustrations later.

Keep using time wisely. Rest easy knowing your accounts are accurate by requesting your credit reports throughout the year. Finding an error early can save you money, energy, and time. Happy checking!

Question: Do you request your annual credit reports?

2013: Second Credit Report Update

August 4, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dan Eriksson)

Having missed the July date I scheduled during the Planning for Success series, I ordered our credit reports upon returning from our family vacation. Since I order our reports over the phone, I wanted to use our home phone for security verification.

We are still receiving monthly updates from our year of free monitoring (thanks to the SC Department of Revenue’s Security breech).

Though I get an e-mail listing any activity, I still request a copy of credit reports to stay on schedule and look over all the activity on our accounts.

If you are following my recommended schedule for requesting your credit reports or are just beginning, then check the date on your previous year’s credit report before requesting a new report.

Wait at least one full year from the processing of your last request for a free report to prevent incurring a fee. For example, my Experian report printed on July 27, 2012, so I can request another this year for FREE anytime after July 28, 2013.

In using time wisely, I request our reports every 4 (or 5) months. For this second credit report update, I requested Paul’s Equifax report and my Experian report. When the reports arrive, I will follow this plan:

1. Review for errors,

2. Challenge discrepancies,

3. Run a FREE Experian credit score for Tracy,

4. Replace last year’s reports with the new reports and credit score in the first file slot of Box 1 of my important documents, and

5. Put file box away until October’s credit check.

It took time. But in using time wisely then, I typically spend 5 minutes or less now reviewing our credit reports. The process is simple because I spent so much time getting it right the first time.

Question: How often do you request your annual credit reports?

2013: First Credit Report Update

March 31, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Dan Eriksson)

Though you have probably already requested your first credit report this year, I wanted to remind you in case it slipped your mind. Having placed a reminder on my calendar during the Planning for Success series, I requested our credit reports in February.

Staying proactive in reviewing our credit reports alerts us to any unusual activity. Protecting our accounts with protective passwords and credit limits, we hope to deter identity thieves from our accounts.

To check those accounts often, we request one credit report every four months. With one free credit report each year from each of the three credit bureaus, we can monitor our credit all year along without paying a monitoring service.

If you are following my recommended schedule for requesting your credit reports, then check the date on your previous year’s credit report before requesting a new report. Wait at least one full year from the processing of your last request. For example, I requested my TransUnion report on February 20, 2012, so I can request another this year for free anytime after February 20, 2013.

In using time wisely, I request our reports every 4 (or 5) months. During the first quarter of 2013, I requested Paul’s Experian report and my TransUnion report. When the reports arrived, I followed this plan:

1. Review for errors,

2. Challenge discrepancies,

3. Run a free Experian credit score for Paul,

4. Run a free TransUnion credit score for Tracy,

5. Replace last year’s reports with the new reports and credit scores in the first file slot of Box 1 of my important documents, and

6. Put file box away until June’s credit check.

By scheduling our credit report requests on my calendar, I stay on track while checking our reports. Though we have not had any unusual activity, I find reassurance in seeing the same information reported repeatedly. This process only takes a few minutes, but finding an error can save you money, energy, and time. Happy checking!

Question: Do you regularly check your credit reports?