Dave Ramsey says “…your credit score is not an indicator of winning financially. All it tells you is whether you are good at borrowing money and paying it back. That’s it.” He says you can still get a mortgage without a FICO score by jumping through a few hoops, but guess what? He says your old credit records are there for the world to see and that counts, too.

When I think of someone without a FICO score, I think of a person with either a terrible credit history, or a young person with no credit history. A person with bad or no credit history would not be able to breeze through a mortgage without a FICO score.

I started building credit in my early twenties because I knew it was important and would help me to buy a home one day… that had always been a dream of mine since we never owned a home when I was growing up.  As a result, unfortunately we moved a lot, and my mom was evicted twice.  Once the landlord wanted to sell the place, so he took the front door off the hinges in the middle of winter in order to force us out.  The other time the house was condemned with a gas leak and the owners didn't want to pay for the repairs.  They actually gave the home to the fire department for practice in burning a building.  As a teenager I remember going to one of my friend's home and learning that her mother owned the home free and clear.  I thought that was the greatest thing, and couldn't wait to buy my own home.  So the first step as far as I was concerned was to start building my credit.  I guess I'm just too old school to consider not caring about my credit scores. In fact, it just about breaks my head to consider the thought.

Additionally, our credit scores are being used for more than mortgage lending and opening more credit accounts; they are also being used in conjunction with auto insurance, and even your future employer may pull your credit score to see how reliable you are with money.  It's unfortunate, but it's something being done every day.  Personally, it just seems foolhardy to not care about one's credit scores.

If you don't know where your credit scores are currently, Go Free Credit will allow you to pull all three credit scores. I like the idea of this because it allows you to have a baseline so that you know your scores for each of the three consumer credit reporting agencies.

After you know your scores you can use other methods to keep an eye on your scores with companies like Credit Sesame and Credit Karma. These companies align fairly closely with the companies which they are connected with, so it is a good way to keep an eye on your scores. If it goes up or down dramatically you  might want to pay for your score through Annual Credit Report. “AnnualCreditReport.com provides consumers with the secure means to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).” You do not, however, get your credit score free, you must pay for it.

In the past I've done a review on Go Free Credit, and it is simple to sign up.  In my review post I show the process with screenshots of each step of the way.  Why not have a look at your scores today?

Go Free Credit gives you free instant access with a 7-day Credit Score Complete credit monitoring trial, $19.95 per month thereafter. Sign up and check your score for seven days. As long as you cancel your membership within seven days, you will not be obligated to pay the monthly fee.

Have you pulled your credit scores lately?  What do your numbers look like?