For the longest time, I was afraid to check my credit score. I wasn’t sure what I would find, and I felt that my massive debt load meant I surely had a score below 600.
At the time, my husband was also afraid to check his credit score, but for a different reason. He has a very common name, and more than once he’s been mistaken for someone else with the same name, including in the office of a big bank, where a “financial advisor” regarded him coolly across the desk and informed him that his credit score was in the toilet.
It wasn’t, the financial advisor had pulled the wrong person’s credit score, but that terrible experience had scarred my husband.
We both stayed in the dark about our credit scores for longer than I would like to admit. I knew there were ways to check your credit score for free, but they were labour intensive and involved sending in physical forms to the two largest credit reporting agencies in Canada, Equifax, and Transunion. So we did what 51% of Canadians do: we never checked our credit scores.
That is, until a few years ago, when I finally bit the bullet, spent the $15 and got pulled credit score and credit history. And guess what? It was okay. I had a good – actually a great – credit score, even though I was still paying off my massive debt.
My husband was also pleasantly surprised about his credit score. Not only did he have a good credit score (the lucky duck has never had debt, not even a car or student loan), his credit report only showed the accounts that were supposed to be there.
Now, we’re among the 15% of Canadians who check their credit score every year. It’s almost like clockwork. January rolls around, and we both pay the $15 to get a detailed report. It’s quick and painless and part of good financial management.
It’s Never Been Easier to Check Your Credit Score
My husband and I both put off checking our credit scores for a long time because:
1. We worried about the unknown
2. It was just difficult enough to be a barrier
Now, there is a super easy way to check your credit score for free – through Borrowell. No need to spend the money anymore.
Borrowell has changed the credit score game. Instead of your credit score remaining a relative myth, you can now check it instantly, anytime, without affecting your credit score. It only takes three minutes to receive your Equifax credit score, once you sign up, you’ll receive an updated score every three months, along with tips and tricks on how to improve your credit score.
So if you’ve ever wondered what your credit score was, but you were too nervous/unmotivated/scared/lazy to check it, all of those excuses are gone! Just do it, and then you’ll know.
How often do you check your credit score? I want to know!
Also, Borrowell has put together these interesting tidbits about credit scores:
Photo Credit: CafeCredit.com
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