Usually when you hear about millennials they're being ragged on for one thing or another - especially when it comes to how they spend their money. But older milennials, those aged 30-38, are ahead of every other generation in staying on top of their credit score.

CreditCard.com took a poll that showed almost 90% of millennials between the ages of 30 and 38 have checked their credit score at least once, and almost 45% of this same group have checked their score within the last 3 months.

 

Now, if you're anything like me, no one ever told you how important your credit score is, or how to build or repair your credit. And up until about 10 years ago, checking your credit cost you - literally. Now, there are a host of free tools to help monitor credit, many banks will show you your updated credit score for free (even automatically), and it is free to check your credit directly from the bureaus. 

 

And this change is a big deal as credit scores are used more and more to determine risk for more than just lending. Sure, your credit matters when you're trying to get a credit card, student loans, or a mortgage. But now even landlords, insurance companies, and utilities are checking credit scores of their potential customers. 

 

How to check your credit score

You've probably heard of Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. These two programs are easy and free to use, and provide you with a good summary of your credit activity, not just your score. Using most programs and apps like these won't affect your credit in any way, which is a common fear for those looking to regularly monitor their score. 

 

Chances are if you have a credit card, that bank can show you your FICO score for free. Now some banks will provide this information without you having to ask - maybe through their online interface or in a monthly statement. Some banks, you might have to ask. 

 

Once a year, you can pull your entire credit report from each of three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. This is free to you, and won't affect your score.

 

It's always a good idea to have a general idea of your credit score before you sit down to talk to a lender of any kind. You don't want to wait for a hard credit report pull (which might cost you money and does affect your score, even if only slightly) to find out that you're score is less than desirable, or even disqualifies you from receiving credit. 

 

 

Original article: "Older millennials are more on top of their credit scores than everyone else," published by CNBC on 08 February 2019