Why You Need To Monitor Your Credit History

As part of being a financially responsible individual, it is important to keep an eye on your credit report and credit score. Befitting the times, there is now a free mobile application available for smartphone-carrying consumers who are interested in monitoring changes to their credit report. Designed for Apple’s iPhone, the app updates once a month users’ scored from big credit bureau Experian. Additionally, it provides details about their home value as well as the amount of their available credit that is currently in use. It is important for consumers to note, however, that the score provided via the app is not a FICO score, which is the one that is used by lenders to determine a prospective borrower’s creditworthiness. “The user should be aware that this is not the precise score that the lender will be using if you’re applying for credit, but it’s useful in that it will give you a general idea of where you stand,” said Evan Hendricks, author of the book “Credit Scores & Credit Reports,” according to The Sacramento Bee. Why is this important? To Fix Mistakes As incidents of identity theft continue to climb across the nation and worldwide, it is more important than ever to remain vigilant of your bank statements, especially your credit card statements and credit reports. This is partially so that you can be aware of any fraudulent activity as soon as it occurs, thereby minimizing the havoc wreaked upon your account and the hassle involved in correcting it. Also it is important to keep a watchful eye upon your credit report so that you can correct any errors that might appear. Creditors and the credit bureaus themselves sometimes make mistakes, and if you don’t catch them they can needlessly drag your credit score lower than it should be. Everyone is entitled to one free printout of their credit report every year, so make sure that you go online and request yours. Keep it on file once you review it so that you have it in your records. Also, thanks to the Dodd-Frank financial regulation, now all consumers who have an application for a credit card or car loan denied are entitled to receive a free copy of their credit report as well. To Gauge Creditworthiness If you intend to apply for a brand new credit card, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your credit score so that you know the likelihood of your being approved, especially if you are going to be applying for a bank loan or a mortgage in the near future. This is because every time you apply for a new line of credit your credit score suffers slightly, so there is no sense in applying for a card that you don’t have sufficient good credit to acquire. While you can never know for sure whether or not a lender will grant you a loan, you can get a pretty good idea by frankly analyzing your credit report.