Save Money, and Your Credit Using FICO Score Watch

myfico-myficoPlease note that a commercial relationship exists between our site and FICO® that could include FICO providing us with product and other forms of payment. The views of the author(s) herein do not necessarily reflect the views of FICO. FICO is not a credit repair organization as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act, and does not provide “credit repair” services or advice or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” credit records, credit history or credit ratings.

I logged into the myFICO website, and within a few clicks I was staring at my current financial state through the eyes of a creditor. All my outstanding credit accounts including my mortgage, my car loans, and a small credit card balance.

Wait, I shouldn’t have a balance on any credit card!

Digging a little deeper, I discovered the account in question was one that we had recently paid in full. There had been some residual interest applied after our last payment was made. I honestly don’t know if I didn’t get a bill from the creditor, or if it had come but I discarded it because I assumed the balance was zero. One late charge had already been applied, and the next payment due date was within a few days. I quickly paid the balance and put an entry on my todo list to make sure the balance stayed at zero.

I could see that did not have a blemish on my credit report, thankfully.

Being able to monitor your credit report, and your FICO scores is an invaluable service in today’s financial world. While I should have paid closer attention to my statement, or made sure I checked my account online, FICO Score Watch added a new component to my system of checks and balances that helped me catch a mistake that could have cost me dearly down the road. #myFICOInsider

I thought of the implications of how such a mistake, if left uncaught for months, could affect an important financial move for our family. I thought of how we had refinanced our home earlier this year, and how important it had been to have favorable FICO Scores to get the very best interest rates. Such a mistake would have not only racked up late charges and put blemishes on our credit report, but likely cost us thousands of dollars in interest over the life of our mortgage.

I thought of all the security breaches at retailers that I shop at during the past year. My wife is a bit shy to use our debit card anywhere in fear that our information and our identity could be stolen. With a tools like FICO Score Watch, we would know very quickly if someone was attempting to trash our credit.

Do you use a credit monitoring service?  Has it ever caught anything for you?

About Travis

10 Responses to “Save Money, and Your Credit Using FICO Score Watch”

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  1. The impact of one missed, festering payment can SERIOUSLY hurt the score. It’s so important to stay ultra-vigilant about all accounts and payments-credit monitoring is a great tool for that.

    • Travis says:

      As I like to call it, it’s another tool in the tool belt, Stefanie. A person cannot have too many tools to help them keep their finances rolling in the right direction!

  2. I haven’t…I’ve always wondered if they were really worth it but maybe they are?

    • Travis says:

      A person can’t be too careful with their identify these days, Tonya. But I would certainly classify it under the “nice to have” column.

  3. I haven’t used this service, but I do use Credit Sesame to watch my credit score. I also obtain all my free credit reports throughout the year each year to watch for identity theft and fraud.

    • Travis says:

      Paying for a credit monitoring service may give you a heads up a little faster if something odd is going on, Kayla – but sounds like you’re utilizing free resources to the best of your ability!

  4. I only check my credit report using the free service from the government. I will check my credit score before I make a big purchase and plan to use credit, but otherwise, I don’t monitor it. My thought is that if my credit report checks out OK, then my credit score should be OK as well.

    • Travis says:

      That’s likely true, Jon…and in my opinion, seeing your report and knowing whether there are any derogatory marks or odd accounts you don’t recognize is VERY important. Thanks for sharing!

  5. All I do is check my credit score through my Discover card. They have it whenever you login, so it’s easy to check often. If it dropped unexpectedly I would dig into it more.

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