Credit Check

Building credit is one of the many, many steps to adult life which can loom prominently for a Student. However you are taking care of your finances or WHOMEVER is taking care of your finances it is important, very important for every student on Planet College to be aware that they are building a credit file. At least it is very likely that this is happening.

Two things come to mind which can be useful.

First, on your campus this term there may well be a student finance seminar. This is the type of gathering, often held in the student center and usually put on by a bank or other financial institution which presents essential finance information for students.  Often these types of meetings. if they are sponsored, will include a pitch for the Student Services of the sponsoring institution. Whether you choose to use these services or not frequently these presentations provide useful basic information and your finances, your money and quite possibly your credit.  Planet College recommends you look into any such gatherings on your campus this term. There should be no obligation and the information might help you manage your finances more effectively.

Secondly it might be time now for you to start checking the condition of your personal credit file. That is the record of your credit use which is usually maintained by at least one of three main credit bureaus, as they are known. These are Experian,  TransUnion and Equifax. These businesses provide a service to consumers, that is customers who buy things on credit, and to businesses such as banks, credit unions and retail stores. The service they provide is storing and cataloguing the record of credit and payments and making these records available to their client businesses.  There records are also available to consumers, the people whose files are being kept.  Various regulations govern the operation of these companies. One such set of regulations requires that they make available to each customer one free copy of the report they are maintaining on that customer per year.  Each company has a separate procedure for the consumer, you in this case, to obtain this annual free copy and their websites contain the directions for this procedure.

If you have not done this, that is gotten a copy of your credit report, a free copy, now is a good time to start. As explained these free reports are available annually and it is a very good idea for you to stay on top of each companies report. First of all you want to make sure the information they contain is accurate. This is essential and alone is a good reason to get your free copy from each bureau. Also you will likely wish to keep copies for yourself for a while. These records will provide an at-a-glance chart of you growing financial competence.

Your free credit report, very useful, look into it soon.

Planet College Note.  Planet College does not endorse any business, third party or website which offers to do this for you. i.e. Obtain Your Credit Reports Free! We'll Do It For You.  As you'll see when you search for 'free credit report' a number of such offers will come up.  Planet College has no information about the operation or character of such businesses .  They may be, at least on their own terms, legitimate, offering this service for 'busy' students or just 'busy' people in general. Yes, you are busy. And part of the busyness is taking care in every aspect of your real life, finances in particular, because they are essential and you will be dealing with finances for the rest of your life.  So, Planet College urges 'busy' you to add one more thing to your To Do list.  OK, three more things. Learn the procedures and get these reports on your own. (It's OK to ask a friend for help.)