American consumers are allowed to check their credit annually from the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. What most people make the mistake of doing is checking all three at once. It is wise to take advantage of this free annual service by spacing out credit checks over the course of the year, as a consumer can keep a closer eye on his or her quarterly credit reporting.

First, be sure to use an authorized credit reporting site. The free annual credit reporting process does not require a consumer to sign up for monthly monitoring, fraud alert protection service, or any other optional services provided by that specified reporting agency. If there are any previous credit reports available, gather them up for review and comparison purposes. It is also necessary to have on hand any banking, past residence, or current credit card information, as sometimes it is needed during for verification purposes during the credit checking process.

Next, choose which agency you wish to start the credit checking process with. If there have been previous credit reports in your name, it would be prudent to select the credit reporting agency that issued the oldest report. This way, all information can be compared to previous information contained in the old credit report for a more-long term comparison. Be sure to keep a log of when you performed the new credit check, with what company you chose, and make sure to highlight any changes or discrepancies from the old credit report on to the new one.

To take full advantage of this process, try to space out the credit checks over an annual basis by performing a credit check every quarter. A good schedule to keep would be to perform checks in March, July and November. By checking your credit report with once agency during these months, a consumer is guaranteed to receive three updates during the year for free.

In addition to performing free credit checks, it is also a good idea to go ahead and spend the small investment (usually less than $10) and check your FICO score. This is especially important for consumers planning to purchase new insurance, real estate, vehicles, or other avenues which require a company to perform a credit check. Having a clear, error-free credit report, along with an excellent FICO score, will greatly improve your chances of appearing to bank and finance companies as someone who is very responsible with their personal credit management.