Your credit score holds the power to influence approval decisions, interest rates and the cost of borrowing. Knowing your credit score helps you understand your creditworthiness and will help you monitor your financial health over time. However, the big question is: can you hurt your credit score if you check it? First Savings Bank is here to provide guidance on how you can check your credit score for free, without hurting it.
Understanding Credit Score
A credit score is a three-digit number that reflects how likely you are to repay what you borrow. Core factors include payment history, credit utilization, length of credit history, credit mix and new credit opened. Keeping an eye on your score helps you catch reporting errors, track improvements and prepare for financing. Knowing how to check your score empowers confident credit decisions, giving you a better grasp on financial literacy.
Can Checking Hurt Your Score?
Free credit monitoring is something that can be utilized by many and there are several ways to do this. There is a difference between a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry, ultimately impacting your credit score differently. A soft inquiry happens when you check your own score through banking tools such as SavvyMoney or going to sites like Credit Karma. In contrast, a hard inquiry happens when a lender pulls your score for credit approval. A hard inquiry lowers your score while the soft inquiries allow you to monitor your credit score without affecting it. Let us put one of the biggest rumors to rest, you can do as many soft inquiries as you want without compromising the score. For many, monthly check-ins are adequate and allow consumers to easily monitor their credit trends and detect fraud if it occurs.
How Can I Do A Free Credit Check?
There are many secure online tools and mobile apps that offer free score access, updates and alerts. You can also request free credit reports weekly from each major credit bureau. First Savings Bank offers complimentary access to our mobile banking tool, SavvyMoney, which allows you to check your score anytime, anywhere when you log into your online banking. Your credit score is a magic number and holds the key to many financial decisions. Always be sure that you are visiting a credible source when inputting information to access your credit score. If fraudsters gain access to personal credit information this can cause serious financial harm, often taking years to resolve. As a financial institution, we want to provide you with a link that allows you to request your credit score for free weekly from each of the major credit bureaus such as Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
At First Savings Bank, we are committed to protecting you and equipping you with financial tools that allow you to monitor your score easily and securely. When looking for your next auto or mortgage loan, be sure to look closely at your score to determine what loan program works for you.
