Most people don’t know their credit score.
Why?
Whatever the reason is, you can’t avoid looking at, dealing with, and talking about credit, even if the thought of it is blood-curdling!
Here are six reasons why you must not be spooked at the thought of checking your credit score:
If you wait to face your credit report until you need to borrow money, it might be too late. There is always the possibility of finding ominous items on your credit report that come as a complete shock to you, whether it’s something you’ve long forgotten, something you didn’t think would have an effect on your credit score or instances of identity theft.
Problems with your credit report can take time to be dealt with. Don’t leave yourself in a position of having to wait months or even years to purchase your first home or car, just because checking your credit report is such a frightful prospect.
If you’re avoiding checking your credit because you’re scared of what you might see, you could be making it worse. Most of us go through credit issues. You are not alone. You have a choice now: face the truth and start to repair your credit score or ignore it and make it worse. While it’s a hair-raising thought, who knows…it might not be as bad as you think.
If you’re avoiding getting your credit report because you think it will harm your credit, don’t worry. Obtaining your own credit report is called a soft inquiry - that is, an inquiry into your credit background that is not for the purposes of potentially borrowing money. When you get your credit checked for a credit card, a loan or a mortgage, that is a hard inquiry and can have an effect on your credit score. Checking your own credit will not harm your credit rating at all, no matter how nightmarish the thought might be!
As a Canadian, you are entitled to one free credit report per year from Equifax and TransUnion. You can keep track of your credit score with a credit monitoring program like the one Refresh offers. It allows you unlimited access to both your credit history and score, helps you guard against identity theft, and gives you valuable insight with a detailed credit and debt analysis. You can find it here.
Without decent credit, you might find yourself having trouble booking hotel rooms, renting a car, or booking flights. It affects your ability to buy a home, and even to rent a home. You can have trouble obtaining banking products you want, and you’ll find buying a car difficult. Credit seeps into so many areas of our lives, it’s crucial to talk about it, even though it can be scary. If you face your fears and get your credit under control, it will improve your life overall.
Those with better credit get better interest rates, and you don’t get better credit by burying the topic of credit. A lower interest rate on something as simple as a credit card can be the difference between six years or three years to pay off a debt, potentially saving you thousands of dollars in interest.
Even if your credit is in hideously bad shape now, it’s not difficult to fix it. You will never be able to learn how to fix your credit though, if you don’t talk about it, look at your credit report and clean it up as best you can!
Learn more about Refresh Financial's credit building programs and apply online in under 20 minutes!
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