Look for Odd Activity

There are plenty of subscriptions out there that will check and monitor your credit for a fee. You do not have to pay any extra cash, though. Instead, rely on free online apps such as Credit Sesame or Credit Carma for that extra help. Also, card issuers such as Barclaycard and Discover may let you check your credit score free of charge too!

Always be on the lookout for tools that you need not pay a penny for. Look for unusual activities and make sure to turn on alerts for when bills are due. These services will even ping you if or when new lines of credit will be taken out in your name!

Take Action

You won’t always get a dent on your credit report from places that loan money. Some of these may come from hospitals, for example. Worse, if you have unpaid bills, these can be sent to collection agencies, which will report missed payments within 90 or 180 days.

It’s important to act fast and don’t ignore these, even if you’re been wrongly contacted. You have 30 days to dispute the debt. You can look for a simple template letter from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to use as a template!