The Wall Street Journal’s Cranky Consumer has written an article today about checking out three different free credit information sites.  The sites, Quizzle, Credit.com, and CreditKarma.com propose to give a comparable score to FICO and the other major credit agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.  You can obtain a free credit report from those sites 3 times a year by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com .

I have a full-time job, so I did not visit each of the above sites for a test drive.  Please read the professional journalist’s very well reported article linked above for that.

I did, however, visit www.quizzle.com.  The questions required to confirm my identity were not answered to their satisfaction-they were referring to a non-mortgage loan originated about four years ago.  But it was listed as my home mortgage loan,which was refinanced less than 2 years ago. Therefore I failed their identity tests…..

So if this is confusing sorry.  My point is I would have to call an 800 number to allow them to give me a credit report.  Maybe tomorrow after a full nights sleep.

Now, don’t let  roadblocks like these keep you from checking your credit information.  Going to one of the sites above and obtaining information is extremely important, both from an identity theft standpoint, as well as identifying errors.  You want to make sure no one has tried to obtain credit on your behalf.

A low credit score  can cost you thousands in extra interest, and fees -if you are able to obtain a new loan. You also will probably have to take out mortgage life insurance resulting in higher monthly payments.

But keep in mind, all of these reports give their own proprietary information.  The only way to get your FICO score is through FICO.  They now offer a free report as well, but is tied to a monthly service that will be charged to your credit card, unless you cancel it within the first thirty days.

Just keep in mind that FICO’s mathematical weighing of your credit information is not available, anywhere but at FICO.  Although all of the above sites will give you information that will be in the general range.

So where does all this go, for Millionaire Nurses

• Check your report several times a year-for free
• Don’t carry a balance on your cards
• Make all your payments on time, so your score won’t be dinged
• Keep your balances, if you have them on your credit cards-less than half of your credit limit.
• Save monthly-so in time, you won’t care what your score is, you will be your own banker….