A new federal law allows you a free, once-a-year look at your credit report so you can check for errors before they cause financial trouble.  Since your credit history affects everything from your purchasing power to your ability to get a reasonable loan rate or land a job, it's important to keep your report as clean as possible.

Your report could be flawed with false accounts, late payments or other delinquencies due to identity theft or information mix-ups.  Even if your report is clean, it may be helpful to learn your credit score, especially if you're shopping for a house or will make another large purchase affected by your score.  You can request your score for a fee at the time you order your free credit report.

Consumers have been paying up to $9 per credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three major credit reporting agencies.  Now you can request a free copy from each credit reporting agency once every 12 months through the Annual Credit Report Request Service.  Residents of Minnesota have free access to their credit reports as of March 1, 2005.  The Annual Credit Report Request Service is your only source for free credit reports with no strings attached.  Simply go to www.annualcreditreport.com , a Website sponsored by all three major credit reporting agencies, or call 1-877-322-8228 to request your free credit report.