Your FICO score is one of the most important numbers in your life, but you may have to pay to know what your score is. Even if you pay for your FICO score, you may not get the one that a lender sees or uses. But for some people it might be enough to get a close estimate.
Misconception
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to view your credit report from each credit bureau for free every year but does not entitle you to a free credit score calculation. Credit scoring algorithms are not necessarily owned by the credit bureaus and lenders can use whatever formula they want to rate you as a credit risk. Creditors may prefer to design their own algorithm.
Getting a Score for Free
You can probably get your score for free by signing up for a trial offer. The credit rating bureaus sometimes run promotions where they calculate your score if you try a service, such as credit monitoring. This is only free if you cancel before the trial membership ends. You will have to give out your credit card number. You could also use a FICO score estimation tool and get a general idea of what type of risk you are.
Does Your FICO Score Matter?
Some financial gurus, such as Dave Ramsey, claim you do not need to know your FICO score or even take out loans picked up by the national credit bureaus. Lenders sometimes base their credit decisions on an informal judge of character rather than looking at how a formula rates you. It is just as important to have a good history with a lender and to pay your bills on time.
Tip
If you decide to pay for your FICO score, purchase a score labeled as a FICO or based on the FICO model. The credit bureaus have educational scores that look like a FICO score but are of little use for judging your creditworthiness, because creditors probably do not care about anything but a true FICO score.
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