Your credit information may be of no use to you. If you're not planning on buying a house or renting an apartment, buying a car, taking out a loan, paying for college or getting a new credit card, then you won't need to worry about getting your free credit score. However, most people need to visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com to get a listing of all late payments, charge-offs, debts, collections, loans, liens and types of credit accounts open, so they can get an honest appraisal of their borrowing power. Credit report services from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each will offer you a free report once a year to help you see where you are and where you need to be financially.

To improve your credit information, you'll need to obviously pay off all existing debts, but this is easier said than done, isn't it? Some people like to go through a credit counselor or debt relief agency, while others do it on their own through responsible planning. After looking at the credit report services files, you can write down all the balances and interest rates you need to keep track of. Write down your monthly income after taxes and deduct your rent or mortgage payment, as well as other monthly expenses like utilities, insurance, loan payments and groceries. Then you'll know how much you have remaining to pay off your debts. Consider ways to reduce your spending, such as car-pooling to work, eating out less often or turning off your cable for a little while. Also, brainstorm whether you can make supplemental income somehow. To develop a good plan, pay off your minimum monthly debt payments first and then use the remaining to pay off the highest interest rate and highest balance. Soon you'll be on your way toward improving credit scores.

To file a dispute about your credit information, you should write a letter to all three major credit bureaus, which are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. On the letter, include the date, your name, address, phone number and social security number. Just write "The following data is incorrect and should be updated," then list each inaccuracy, explaining why it's wrong and what it should be updated with. Attach a marked copy of your credit score report and include any communication, account records or statements that can help prove your version of events. By letter is the best way to dispute with Equifax and TransUnion, but Experian only allows online disputes. The credit bureaus then have 30 days to investigate and repair your credit information. Once they are done, they will write you a letter letting you know what was or was not updated. If you're not happy with the results, then you can try repeating the process but with different documents or go directly to the creditor to try and resolve.

Often, checking your credit information is the only way to bring to light an identity theft if you are don't use one of the identity theft products such as Life Lock who continually watch your credit information for you and watch for any unusual activity. If you find unusual in your credit information that you have absolutely no explanation for, an unpaid loan, a new computer on credit etc. get in touch with the 3 credit agencies asap and police for help. Without any form of protection, monitoring your credit information is perhaps the only way to avoid identity theft running amok. It will not prevent it from occurring it but at least it stops from getting any worse.

There's no tool greater than credit information. If you've suffered poor credit scores in the past, then you can still rebound from a foreclosure or collection account by paying regular bills in full and on-time. The best way to stay ahead is to bring in more income, see where your spending problems lie and save sufficiently. "What works" in this department varies for each person. Some need to put the money out of sight, out of mind, while others can manage it in their checking account. Whether it was a one-time "oops" or a pattern of "I didn't know," seeking credit info is the first step toward financial recovery.