Jim Wigen, WHIFinancial.com - Get Your Credit Report (Not Score) Free on AnnualCreditReport.com

This week is all about getting organized and finding your financial baselines. One of the best ways to get your arms around your household’s financial health is to check your credit report. You may be tempted to hop on freecreditreport.com (I know, the catchy lyrics are ringing in my ears, too), but the best place to go for free, comprehensive credit information is annualcreditreport.com.

Through this site, you can obtain data about your credit history from the three major credit reporting firms: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You won’t be able to see your actual credit score–the agencies still charge for this–but you will be able to make sure that your credit report doesn’t include any mistakes that could harm your ability to obtain credit at a decent rate in the future. Checking these reports is also a good way to ensure that identity thieves haven’t obtained credit in your name. You can obtain free basic reports from the three credit reporters once a year.

I recently obtained my credit reports using annualcreditreport.com, and found the site to be quite easy to use, so long as I was able to ignore the steady barrage of upsells for paid credit services. After inputting some basic information about myself, including my address, birth date, and Social Security number, I was transferred to the first of the three agencies’ sites, where I then answered a few additional security questions.

TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax display credit information in varying ways, but all three show you the names and some basic payment history related to your credit accounts, both now and in the past. The sites also show you whether you’ve been late with your payments or have had some other type of problem with a creditor.

Eyeball all three credit agencies’ reports to ensure that your credit report syncs up with reality, and print each of these reports for further perusal. If you see any information that appears to be incorrect, go to the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site for guidance on filing a formal dispute.