Your credit score is critically important. It can impact whether you can get a loan, credit card, mortgage, or even a job. It also impacts your interest rate when you borrow. Lower the score, higher the risk for the lenders, so higher the interest rate you get. It is tough. When it rains, it pours. People in financial difficulty usually have to paying more interests. It is a vicious cycle unfortunately.
That’s why it is important to know your score. It was recommended to check it once a year. It is free, easy, and quick to get it online.
There are two major credit bureaus in Canada TransUnion and Equifax. Some lenders or merchants only use one of them so they can have different information on you. You can get different credit scores and reports from them. It is necessary to check both.
When I tried to sign up to get my credit report and score for free online, TransUnion kept asking for my credit card information and there was no way around it. I absolutely refused to provide my credit card information because I want it for free.
Luckily, Credit Karma get your credit information from TransUnion. You can sign up an account and see your TransUnion credit information online for free.
Equifax didn’t ask for credit card information at all when I signed up. It was a quick and easy to create an account and get my credit information from Equifax online.
One key to improve it or maintain a good credit score is to pay off the balance of your credit card, mortgage or another other loans before the due date every month.
Another key factor is utilization which means the percentage of the amount you borrow against the credit limit. The lower, the better. That’s why some people have several credit cards to spread the expenses to lower the utilization rate. As long as you remember to pay the balance off before each due date, you are fine.
Your credit score is your reputation. If it is good, you can wear it like a badge of honour. 😊 It is going to save you a lot of money for a long term.
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