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Your credit report, and how to read it free
Foundations · Lesson 2 of 22 · 4 min
The report is the record behind the score: accounts, balances, payment history, and collections. You can get it free every week from all three bureaus at annualcreditreport.com, the only federally authorized site.
Read it in four passes: personal information, open accounts, negative items, and inquiries. You are looking for anything you do not recognize.
Checking your own report never lowers your score. Only a lender's hard pull does that.
Takeaway
Read your report before a lender does. It costs nothing and takes 20 minutes.
Next up: The three bureaus and who reports to them