If someone were to ask you what your credit score is, you’d likely tell them that it’s none of their business. But the truth is that even if you wanted to show your credit score you probably don’t have the faintest idea what it is. Unless you happen to be interested in making a major purchase (like an automobile or a piece of property) you probably think that you have no reason to check your credit rating. But if you fail to keep track of fluctuations in your credit history you could find yourself facing problems the next time you try to take out a loan for a big-ticket item.

The reason is that no one is going to be as diligent as you when it comes to ensuring that your credit report is accurate, and reporting agencies aren’t always on the ball. So say you had a late payment or some other small matter that led to a black mark on your credit report. Even if you’ve dealt with the matter it may not have been expunged from the record, meaning your score could be showing up as lower than it should be when someone runs a credit check on you. The point is that you need to stay abreast of your credit rating, and the Credit Karma Mobile app aims to help you do just that.

You might be thinking to yourself that you can get a free credit report simply enough by ordering it online, but there are several reasons why this application is preferable. For starters, it is free to download and it provides unlimited access to your credit report. Even websites that offer to send you your credit report for free generally only offer this service on an annual basis (or they give you 30 days free and then start charging you for service). And by the way, you should be checking your credit score annually at a minimum.

Of course, you might be worried about the effect that frequent checking will have on your credit score, but because your reports are not being obtained from the Credit Bureau by lenders, the requests will not count against your overall score as other types of checks might. And if security is a concern, rest assured that Credit Karma has a strict privacy policy (verified by independent third party TRUSTe). You will have an account with a password and your information will only be given out with your express permission.

So what does this app really deliver? A lot more than a simple credit score, as it turns out. Although the main feature of Credit Karma Mobile is to give you access to your credit report on demand, it also allows for credit monitoring complete with notification messages when something changes. In addition you can track changes over time, access individual credit accounts, and receive a credit report card that will inform you of factors that are influencing your credit rating so that you can address them post haste. In short, this app could help you avoid hiring a bankruptcy attorney Belleville IL to Bellevue, WA. So whether you’re simply looking to access your credit report for free or you need some help dealing with a score that’s lower than you want it to be, this is one handy app that can help you track your credit and turn it around.

Editor’s Note

Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.

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