Whenever you have a goal in mind, the first step to take in achieving it is to know where you are standing. If you plan to improve your credit score then it is but logical that you know your credit score. The journey to a debt free situation is to get a copy of your credit report and knowing what your credit score is.

There are three credit bureaus that monitor your credit— Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Getting credit reports from these three agencies will give you the best picture of your financial situation.

Now, how do you get free credit reports from these credit bureaus? You need to be careful of using services which claim that they can give you a copy of your credit report for free but without you knowing they will be charging hidden fees or signing you up for annual memberships that will cost you a lot. We have found some ways to get your credit scores for free without having to worry about hidden charges.

CreditKarma.com

We have posted a review of the services of CreditKarma before. The site is simply addicting because of its great features. It will give you an idea of your credit score and will present you loan and credit card offers based on your current score. CreditKarma also has a simulator which shows the possible effects of financial decisions that you might be considering.

This is a free service. You just need to sign up. Provide your name, password for the account, and your email. You will get an email after a few minutes then you just have to answer some security questions and voila! You will know your credit score.

The credit simulator is one of my favorite features of this site. You can see how your credit score might be affected when you apply for certain credit cards, pay off your debt, close or open a credit card, transfer balances, get an increase in your credit limit, and the list goes on. Financial junkies will love this too for sure and you will end up tinkering with the simulator for hours looking at different possible scenarios.

When I toyed with the simulator I was fascinated how paying off my cards will give me a 60-point increase on my credit score but I can get the same effect by just paying $1,500 on of of my credt cards. I am not sure if this is accurate but it must be looking into a good credit ratio. If I want to hit a FICO of around 750, it tells me to pay off all my debt and be a good due date respecting citizen for the next two years.

You can set up your account so you can get a monthly update of your credit score in your email inbox.

AnnualCreditReport.com

Remember that under the law, we are entitled to get a free credit report from all the credit bureaus once every twelve months.

AnnualCreditReport.com helps you get these credit reports for free. You actually don’t have to sign up or provide the number of your charge card to get the reports. They can deliver it via the web or post.

All you need to do is answer some security questions. One of which is to provide your social security number. Don’t worry about punching in your social since the system is encrypted or secured. Once your done with the basics, you will be able to choose if you want to go to Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. Just register no the website you go to and print your credit report.

It is advisable to print your credit report since they will just be on the online database for sometime. Equifax will have it online just for a month if you registered with your email, security question, and password. Experian and TransUnion will also allow you to log in to view your credit report on a later date.

Denied Credit

If you were denied credit, you still can get a free credit report following the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You will receive a denial letter and it should contain instructions on how you can get the free report.

The same goes if you are unemployed but planning to get a job within two months; if you are getting social welfare assistance; and if you are a credit card fraud victim or if you believe that you might be one.

You can visit the websites of Equifax , TransUnion , and Experian for more information.