Family Living

Financial Tips

Free Credit Reports

Beginning December 1, 2004 those living in the western states became eligible for a free credit report.

A special website has been developed for the purpose of helping individuals obtain credit reports from one or all of three companies: www.annualcreditreport.com

You are able to obtain your report online, by phone or by mail.

Important Reminder: You can get only one report per company per year. So when you get your report and wish to make changes it would be wise to take notes or print out the report. You will not be able to generate another report within the year.

Ordering your credit report is easy. You should get a report from each of the three companies listed. It is a good idea to order one every four months or so. Each of the three maintain separate information and are likely to have differences.

Getting your report is easy; understanding it may be difficult. Thanks to Iowa State University you can get help at their web site: www.fcs.iastate.edu/financial