Thursday, August 21, 2008

Credit Union Tools - for your benefit!

You know from my previous posts, that I am a huge credit union advocate. So, now that you have taken my advice and have found the right credit union for you (right?), it is time to start taking advantage of all the services and products that they have to offer that will help you save money and time.

My credit union, Idahy Federal Credit Union, is big on educating members. They have many links to information that can help your financial future. Check your credit union for money and time saving links and/or discounts. You will be amazed at what they have to offer.

One link on Idahy’s website (and probably your credit union's website and if not is available to you as well) is a link for a free credit report. I have to preface this by saying it is NOT the “Free Credit Report dot com” that you hear about on TV, which does offer a free credit report, but you have to sign up for another paid service. NEVER go to that site for your credit report. You are actually entitled on one free credit report each year from each of the 3 credit reporting agencies - no strings attached. This was a government program instituted to help consumers be proactive about checking their credit for ID theft. I recommend checking your credit report on a regular basis to look for identity theft, but also just to look for errors (you would be amazed to know how many errors are on credit reports - old information, double reported accounts, etc!). Because you can get a credit report from each of the three agencies each year, I recommend getting a free credit report every 4 months (example: January – TRW, April – Equifax, August – Trans Union). This would ensure that you were checking your credit on a regular basis and you would be able to take advantage of all of your free credit reports during the year.

Again, you don’t have to be a member of Idahy to utilize this service. Click here for the details. Good luck!

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