By MICHELLE BERAN
Cottonwood Extension District
Even if you are not planning any large purchases in the near future, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recommends checking your credit report annually. The CFPB is a U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat you fairly.
There are several tools to handle this and the easiest is from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s website: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/.
From this secure site, you can access one, two, or all three of the reporting credit bureaus. They also include a reminder that this annual check doesn’t negatively impact your credit rating. It is an important tool to verify that the information reported about you is accurate.
What is the difference between a credit report and a credit score? Both are important!
The report is just that – a report of your information and includes both open and closed accounts such as a car loan, mortgage, or credit card. Per the CFPB website, a credit score predicts how likely you are to pay back a loan on time.
Companies use a mathematical formula—called a scoring model—to create your credit score from the information in your credit report. It is important to know that you do not have just “one” credit score and there are many credit scores available to you as well as to lenders. Any credit score depends on the data used to calculate it, and may differ depending on the scoring model, the source of your credit history, the type of loan product, and even the day when it was calculated.
K-State Extension also has a good publication that explains basic terms and provides a handy resource for checking your credit. It can be located at ksre.ksu.edu under Family Financial Resource or at https://bit.ly/48mMv6Y.
Keep learning. Keep showing grace and kindness!
Michelle Beran is a Family and Community Wellness Agent in the Cottonwood Extension District. For more information on this article or other K-State Extension resources, email Michelle at [email protected] or call Cottonwood Extension District – Barton Office at 620-793-1910.