Credit Monitoring, Is It Right For You?

In order to have financial success and achieve long-term goals, it’s always in your must interest to have a good credit score. Having a good credit score typically means you’ll be offered lower interest rates, competitive terms, and agreements, and have an upper hand when applying for new financial products.

So how do you achieve a high enough credit score to help you achieve your goals? And, how will you know if you’re taking the right steps, or if your method is even working? Credit monitoring is often the answer to these questions.

How to Choose the Right Credit Monitoring Service

First and foremost, you must identify the best credit monitoring service for you and your lifestyle. There are different types of services to choose from, as they’re not all identical. You can acquire free services, paid services, and services from each credit bureau or through a third-party firm.

In order to ensure you find the right credit monitoring service, use the following recommendations:

Confirm with the service that you choose that daily monitoring of all three of your credit reports is included (there are 3 credit reporting bureaus in the U.S. and you have a credit report with each of them)
Ensure the service offers scores from all three credit bureaus, rather than one single score (same as above, you have 3 credit scores with each of the 3 credit bureaus).
Pick the option that provides customizable credit alerts. Alerts via email or text message will allow you to keep an eye on your credit no matter where you are.
Choose the service that includes extra benefits. Keep in mind the cost compared to the level of service.

Using Your Credit Monitoring Service

After you’ve selected the service that best fits your present lifestyle, it’s time to actually use the service to help improve your credit score.

Register and examine the information below.
1. Look at your credit scores and write down all the negative items on your credit report in order to see what’s decreasing your score.
2. Sign up for automatic credit alerts in order to stay updated with all the information in your account.
Depending on the monitoring service you chose, the program may have built-in recommendations regarding increasing your credit score. You can refer to outside sources or you can use the following steps in order to construct a better credit score.
Make an effort and take the right steps to increase your credit score, but also take into account and look at your credit monitoring platform throughout the process. This will ensure that the steps you follow have the positive impact you originally wanted.
You may only need to use a credit monitoring service for a shorter amount of time especially if you’re looking to achieve a specific score or repair your credit following bankruptcy. Once you’ve achieved your goal, it’s up to you to determine whether or not you want to continue to use the service.
If you decide to keep your service, it can help you make strategic and valuable decisions concerning your financial future. For example, before you apply for new credit and take out a loan or mortgage.

Can You Improve Your Credit Score Without Credit Monitoring?

Yes, it is possible to improve your credit score without the help of a credit monitoring service. You just won’t know if the steps you’ve decided to take are actually working until you pay for a copy of your credit report and score.

If you’re a visual person who likes to see progress then a credit monitoring service is exactly what you need to help you work on improving your credit score. You’ll be able to see how your financial actions are affecting your score and even correct the habits that are negatively affecting your score.