• Viewing your credit report, builds and maintains good credit.
  • It is one part of managing your personal finances.
  • It is one of the easiest ways that you can determine whether you are a victim of identity theft.
  • It goes a long way in correcting information that does not reflect you correctly.

When it comes to finances, the majority of the world is clueless. With that, I am not saying that everyone will get super-rich if they follow these easy steps. However, what I do mean is that most of us waste so much money unnecessarily due to our own ignorance and mismanagement.

If you don’t earn the biggest of salaries, it is all the more reason to keep a close eye on your finances and establishing where you are leaking funds.

Keeping a finger on the pulse concerning your credit report is one of the most basic money management skills that most people don’t do. If you neglect something as simple as this, you are bound to miss other irregularities as well.

How does it benefit me?

If you have ever applied for some credit and have been denied, you have your credit score to thank. This little number has the power to sway a credit or service provider in or out of your favour when you apply for credit.

Most of us are unaware of where we stand in terms of our credit score, and then applying for credit becomes like playing the lottery. When you can review your credit score, at least you’ll have a starting point of where to get things in order again.

When you regularly review your credit report, you know exactly where you stand, and you have the power to make good decisions and build towards a better and more attractive score. If you are new to viewing your credit report, you might have noticed that your score wasn’t great.

When you regularly review the report, you will be able to build and recover from your past credit blunders. The more you do it, the easier it becomes to manage your finances, and before you know it, you’ll know exactly what you can apply for.

Healthy financial habits

Managing your personal finances doesn’t stop at making sure you have enough money in the bank for your debit orders to go off each month.

When you manage your finances well, you plan for the near and distant future, and you need all the tools you can get to do this job well. Your credit report is one such tool that gives you great insight into your finances.

If you aren’t used to it, checking your credit report, bank statements, and credit card bills seem like an impossible task. However, if you make a habit out of it, you’ll know where your money goes, and you’ll be able to plan ahead.

You’ll go from living from paycheque to paycheque to planning and saving. It doesn’t matter who you are, as soon as you see some growth in your finances, you tend to want to do better.

It’s for your own good

We are all too aware of identity theft and hope that it never happens to us. The problem is that there are times that you won’t even know that you were a victim until it is too late.

Reviewing your credit report is one of the easiest ways to determine if your identity is still your own. As you comb through it, you will probably notice accounts that don’t belong to you. At least then you’ll know that you have been compromised and can begin setting things straight again.

Although credit reports are accurate, apart from fraud, there will be times where errors slip into the mix. These errors could have a negative impact on your score, and when you pick up on them, you’ll be able to address them. All credit reports come with dispute instructions that you can follow to set the record straight.