Get Your Credit Score Totally Free at Creditkarma

You can get your free credit report from many sites like Freecreditreport, Equifax, etc. by signing up for their credit-watch programs. The first 30 days are usually free - during this trial period you have unlimited access to your credit report for free. If you cancel your membership before the end of this trial period, you get to keep your credit report without paying a dime. But if you forget to cancel, you could be charged around $10 -$15 every month. The government-mandated free credit reports via Annual Credit Report also do not provide credit scores.

However, you cannot get to see you credit score for free. This is a crucial number on a scale of 0-850. Equifax , Transunion and Experian track this score for every individual based on credit card balances, mortgage, etc. and payment history.

The credit score is an important yardstick when you apply for any form loan - primary mortgage, home equity line of credit, car, credit cards, refinancing, etc. Higher the score, better your chances are at getting a bigger loan and negotiating lower interest rates. So you have to know what your score is before you apply for a loan. Almost all credit reporting agencies charge $8-$15 dollars for this credit score.

But now, with Credit Karma , you can get your credit score for free and that too without any hassles. It has a simple user-interface without requiring your credit card information and trial sign-up periods. You must provide your social security information and answer some personal questions to prove your identity before Creditkarma can display your score. Credit Karma pulls out your score from Transunion. This credit-check is counted as a personal request to view the credit score and does not cause a drop in your credit score (unlike a check by a lender). In fact you can check your score as many times as you want without the risk of dropping your score. The site even provides a tracking tool which charts your score over a period of time. Credit Karma also has a simulator tool that tells you how your score would move if you paid off a debt or opened up a new line of credit. This is a great aid to financial planning. You can also see where you stand with respect to other individuals in your age group or your state. Credit Karma pays for pulling out the credit scores through targeted advertising. They study patterns of financial planning amongst people with similar credit profiles and advertise offers on lenders, cell phones, etc. This advertising can be useful to you as their loan ads are very well organized and can help you find useful information. Users can also vote on the the ads - this gives you a community opinion on the offers.

Their forums allow you to share information with others. Comments by other individuals are quite insightful.

Without doubt, you can get a wealth of information in addition to your free credit score at Credit Karma . So use this tool and get your finances under control.