Credit Monitoring Services

People strive to maintain a high credit score. Having a high credit score opens the door to many opportunities when immediate cash flow is not available. Paying your bills on-time and being cautious of your expenses is very important. There are many different credit monitoring systems out there to choose from, but exactly what are the benefits of having one in place?

The benefits of a credit monitoring system:

• Updates on any changes to your credit report and score
• It can notify you of fraudulent activity
• Educates you on the areas of which you need improvement

Keeping track of what you work so hard for is vital, but which one works the best?

Though these systems have many similarities they also have many differences. Ultimately it is your decision to make, but here are some pointers to help in the search:

• Always be aware of the monthly membership fee’s. Most of them will have some sort of free trial, but will charge you anywhere from $20-$50/month depending on the service after the trial period.
• Find out if the service provides email notifications of any changes quickly after they occur or if you will only receive updates on a monthly basis.
• Will this service provide all three reports and scores or just one or two.

Keep in mind these services alone can not prevent identity theft. There is no guarantee they can stop identity theft before it happens so be cautious of keeping your information secure. Also, change your account passwords frequently and make these passwords difficult to guess (Ex. Avoid using your birthday or 123password). Maintaining your credit worthiness can be difficult without the right process in place. A credit monitoring service can be a very beneficial component, but be sure to always do your part.