The three major credit bureaus have agreed to extend consumer access to free credit reports for another year in response to hardships caused by the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

Your credit report is the one true crystal ball that can give you insights into your financial wellness. Produced by each of the three major consumer credit bureaus (Transunion, Experian and Equifax), your credit report can provide explanations for fluctuations in your credit score, as well as the reasoning behind decisions made by your creditors.

Passed in 1970, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gave numerous protections to consumers with regards to how their credit data is shared. Today, this legislation continues to foster the accuracy, privacy and fairness of consumer data by requiring lenders to be transparent with their borrowers about the use of their credit report in lending decisions. One of these requirements is to notify a consumer when adverse action is taken.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you’re allowed to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report. If you believe there are inaccuracies on your report, or there are errors that you believe are the result of fraud, take the following steps:

Christmas is almost here, but if you’re like many holiday shoppers, chances are you’ve barely begun your search for holiday gifts. If you’re waiting until this week, take some additional precautions with regards to your personal information. This year, there are millions of consumers spending millions of dollars, on thousands of websites, in a condensed amount of time. It’s a fraudster’s dream come true, and it’s why you need to be extra vigilant. Here are some tips to keep your identity safe this holiday season:

It doesn’t take a credit scoring expert to tell you that missing payments is a bad thing. Credit scoring models evaluate your credit history to see how you’ve managed your current and past credit obligations in an effort to predict how likely you are to miss payments in the future. There are three main questions you should ask yourself about your late payments:

When a lender or creditor requests a copy of your credit report from the bureaus, this is called an inquiry. Inquiries may be listed on your credit history, and in some cases, could negatively impact your score. There are two types of inquiries:

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a study finding that 26 million Americans were “credit invisible”- in other words, about 1 in every 10 Americans has no documented credit profile with the 3 major credit bureaus.

The credit bureaus always want to demonstrate whether you’re opening credit accounts responsibly. When you apply for a mortgage, your lender will pull your credit, and a notation will be placed on your report indicating that it has been viewed. This is called an inquiry. Inquiries for car loans, mortgages and student loans are all regarded as inquiries and will typically lower your credit score.

Often overlooked, having the right mix of credit can really have an impact on your credit score. Think about your financial investments- how many times have you been told about the merits of “diversifying your portfolio”? Similarly, in the world of credit, the bureaus want to see a diverse buildup of credit use. In other words, they want to see that you aren’t putting all your eggs in one basket.