If you already have excellent credit and sparingly apply for new credit, checking your credit reports once a year might be sufficient. However, if you are in the process of rebuilding your credit or preparing to make a large purchase within the next year, you will want to take a look more often. Once every three months is a good place to start. Credit reports are long, so which information should you look at first? Here are the top five things to verify when reviewing you reports:
- Verify accuracy of any late payments. These should be easy to find.
- Check the date opened and account status for each credit line
- Verify accuracy of balance and available credit
- Check for inaccurate public record and personal information
- Verify accuracy of inquiry reports
