This month use TransUnion
Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order so you can enjoy the holiday season.
How to Order Your Credit Report
The only authorized source for your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law. Learn more.
Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com:
- Select your state, then click Request Report.
- Fill out your information, then click Continue.
- When it asks you to select a service, select TransUnion.
Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:
- Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
- Call in your order at
1-877-322-8228
1-877-322-8228What should you do with your report?
- Review it for accuracy!
- Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
- And, always remember to keep copies for your records.
Were you hoping for your credit score instead? Try CreditKarma.com. It doesn’t give you a FICO score, but it comes close by providing scores from TransUnion and VantageScore. And, there’s no charge for you. CreditKarma funds their service through website advertising.
May you have a fun and meaningful holiday season from Halloween through to New Year’s Eve and everything in between.
P.S. I’ll send you another reminder in January so you can start 2016 off right.
Do you know what’s really scary? Having company due in 5 minutes when the bathrooms aren’t clean. When that happens, do you lock the front door and pretend you’re not home? No! You walk into the bathroom and decide which part needs to be cleaned first (just in case you run out of time before the doorbell rings).
That’s because you want to use the same thought process with your credit cards. Some cards will need more attention than others, so you need to make a list of your debts which includes the interest rate and minimum payment amounts.
You should check your credit report three times a year to check for accuracy and identity theft. (Go through 
For example, when you open a bank account with a new bank, they want to see your check writing history. Or, when you want to switch insurance companies, they want to see what claims you have filed. You can view those same reports to see if anyone has written checks or requested claims in your name. You can get a statement from your health insurance company once a year to compare to your information to what is on file. That means you may be able to catch medical identity theft early. Otherwise you wouldn’t know who is using your identity for medical theft until your insurance company declines a claim because they previously paid for it. You can do the same for prescriptions too.
As the weather turns to Spring, homeowner’s start to think about home improvements. Several years back, we did a major home improvement to our home and we had to make some tough decisions about what improvements to make. Do we make changes that will make our lives easier? Do we do something that would bring added value to the home? These are the tough decisions we had to make as homeowners.
If you are planning to sell in the near future, then recouping your expenses is a major factor in your choice. Talk with a realtor and discuss what improvements will increase your home’s value and recoup your money.