When I was in high school, the most valuable class I ever took was called Personal Finance. My teacher was brilliant, and taught us how to create budgets, write checks, balance our checkbooks, create savings plans, invest our money for retirement, the importance of credit scores, and even how to dress appropriately for a job interview and how to put together a resume. While other classes DO teach you important life skills like logic, reasoning, critical thinking, and writing, Personal Finance helped me the most with the tough transition into adulthood. I still use the practical skills I learned in that class every single day. That’s why I’m horrified that it was an optional elective. So many young adults entering college and the workforce are completely clueless on how to manage their money. If I hadn’t taken that class, I’d have no idea what a credit score even was, much less things like IRAs, CD accounts, and compound interest. This post by Jim Wang at US News is for those of you who weren’t as lucky as I was:
Oftentimes, when someone pulls your report they only get your FICO credit score.
I recommend one that promises to give you an official FICO credit score, not a credit bureau score.
If you don’t go with Fair Isaac, choose one associated with one of the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). I don’t recommend signing up for these programs for no reason. If you aren’t planning on getting a loan, I wouldn’t worry about it. Checking your credit report annually is good enough and already more than what most people are doing