cheap credit score - Stumble Forward

Finding the cheapest credit score and report these days can be an easy thing to do these days. However not all online credit sites are the same. For example, at annual credit report dot com they claim to give you the cheapest credit report however once you sign in you can get your free report from all three credit bureaus however the credit score will cost you.

This seems to be the typical way most credit sites are set up however their is one site that is changing all the rules and that is Credit Karma, and in this article I’m going to cover why they have the cheapest credit score online and much more.

The Pro’s About Credit Karma

The first thing that is so great about Credit Karma is that they don’t beat around the bush when it comes to getting your credit score, in fact once you’ve input all of your information they will show you your credit score immediately. Below is a screen shot of my credit score.

Now any site can give you a credit score but the best part about this is that they don’t just give you the score and the report but they also break things down for you and give you report card based on how well your credit is doing. As you can see below my average credit report was givena “B”.

However they don’t just stop their they also break your credit score down and show you where you are excelling at and where you are not. For example in the picture below of my credit score you can see that I’ve been given an A in open credit card utilization and an A in the percent of on time payments. However, I seem to be lacking in the age of my credit and the number of accounts I have.

Next another great feature to this site is that they also compare your credit against others to see how you are doing overall. For example, in my credit report I rank in the top 77% in the Credit Karma community and 79% in my home state of Ohio, and for my age I rank in the top 82%. Not bad at all.

Finally, one of the best things about this site is that they have what it known as a credit simulator. This is a great tool that can give you a lot of what if answers. For example, in the picture below I did a simulation where I showed what would happen to my credit score if I would open a credit card with a $5000 limit. The simulation showed me that my credit score would increase as a result.

However, you can do more than just that. You can also see what would happen if you would file for bankruptcy, go into foreclosure, or if you missed payments on your debts. The simulator may not be exact but it will give you a good idea what will happen to your credit score.

The Con’s About Credit Karma

Of all the things that are so great about Credit Karma their is one down sides I should mention to make this a fair and balance review. The one down side to this site is that they don’t show you what credit bureau your score is being pulled from.

Further more they are not showing you all three credit scores either. The downside to this is that a bank will pull any one of the three scores you have from the credit bureaus and if you happen to have a negative mark on that score it may stop the bank from giving you the loan.

Who Is Credit Karma For

Now that we’ve covered the pro’s and con’s you might be wondering who Credit Karma is for. Their are a few people that fit the type for a site like this. First off, if you are someone that has bad credit this site is perfect for you since it will show you right were your problem areas lie with your credit and on top of that it allows you to run different simulations to show you how you could improve your credit over time.

This could also benefit you if you are looking to open a credit card, get a car loan, or even refinance your mortgage. The report that Credit Karma will give you will show you how lenders might react to your report and what kind of rates you might be able to get.

Finally, Credit Karma makes sense for just the average and ordinary consumer who want to protect and build their credit. If your credit is in danger Credit Karma will let you know and show you ways to protect it.

Call To Action

Is Credit Karma right for you? You might be wondering what is all this going to cost me? The answer is nothing, that’s right. It’s free to sign up with Credit Karma and get started today. With the cheapest credit check around you would be crazy not to get signed up today and get your cheap credit score.

To get started go to Credit Karma and sign up for your free account.

In a recent article I covered what 3 place you could get your cheap credit report from for free, so in this article I going to cover one of those option in a little more detail and show where and how to get a cheap credit score report and walk you through the entire process step by step.

Where To Get Your Cheap Credit Score From

If your looking to get a cheap credit report I recommend getting it from Annual Credit Report. This site is actually the official site setup by Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian to get your free report from, in fact all other credit reporting sites will actually get the same information from this site and in some cases make you pay for the same info you could get for free.

However when it comes to getting your free credit report you will only be able to get each of the 3 credit reports once a year. Although I suggest you don’t get all three of them at one time, instead I recommend you pull one every 4 months. This way you will be able to see your credit reports throughout the year, which will help you track and monitor your credit in case you would happen to spot a mistake or problem.

One final thing I should mention before I move on is that you will be able to get your credit report free but you will have to pay for the score itself, which will cost you around $15. The score you will get can range from 450 which is very low to 850 which is around the highest.

Are you ready to get your cheap credit report and score now? Let’s move on.

How To Get Your Credit Score

Step 1: Pick A State

The first page you will come upon is the home page of the Annual Credit Report where they will ask you to pick the state that you live in currently.

Step 2: Fill In Your Info

Next, once you have selected the state that you live in you will have to fill out some simple and quick information. This will include your full name, date of birth, social security number, and address. However if you have not lived at your current address for more than 2 years you will have to list the previous one as well. Then fill out the security question at the bottom and move on.

Step 3: Pick One Credit Bureau

Next after you are done you will have to pick which credit bureau you will want to get your report from. Again, I suggest you only pick one every 4 months and in my case I picked Trans Union since they were the first one at the top.

Step 4: Answer Specific Security Questions

Next you will be transferred to the Trans Union website where you will be able to get your free report. Once you get to the opening page you will have to click continue to get started. This will bring you to the next page were Trans Union will need to verify your account and that it is really you by asking you a couple of security questions about your accounts.

For example my questions asked my how much the credit limits were on both of my credit cards. If you are not sure about some of this information you may have to get your latest credit card statements out to see what your current credit limits are.

Step 5: Review Your Report

Once you have answered the questions you will be able to see your credit report. Once you get there you will be able to see all of your credit cards and loans that you have. You will also see a chart that shows you the last 48 months of your credit history.

The chart above is a key which shows you if you are current or not with your credit. In the actually report each month will be labeled with either the green box that says OK, or one of the other six boxes. Each credit card and loan you have will have a 48 month history like this, below is a sample of one of my actually credit cards.

Obviously, you can see that the last 48 months on this particular card were very good and I’ve paid them all on time. On the very left side of the chart it shows how many times I was late on my credit card, luckily none at all.

Step 6: Claim You Credit Score

No that we know how to get the report, I will show you how to obtain your cheap credit scores online. To do this all you need to do is click on the button at the top that says Your FREE credit score.

At this point just fill out all of you current information like email address, social security number, create a user name, password, and security questions. Like I mentioned before this will cost you, Trans Union charges a $15 a month fee with the first seven days free and you can cancel at anytime.

A Final Thought…

As a final thought to this article I should mention how important it is to get you credit score and check it regularly. You never know what might be on your report and if you do find something that doesn’t belong there make sure you contact the company you got it from and dispute it in writing.

This may take some time to get done but can be one of the fastest ways to cleaning up your credit score and improving it.

Chris

Getting The Cheapest Credit Score: A Credit Karma Review