Home
|
Money

This Week In Money Banking Budgeting Cash Management College Consumer Protection Credit Cards & Repair

Credit Scores Debt Earning Money Expenses, Family Finances General Advice Houses: Buy/Sell Investments IRA's

Legal Issues Miscellaneous Mortgages Retirement Savings Taxes Working Working Women
|
Food

This Week In Food & Groceries Alternative Food Sources Appliances Babies Beverages Breakfast & Dairy Children & Family Convenience Foods & Alternatives Cooking Cooking Tips Coupons

Diets Food Expenses Food Safety Freezing Foods & Freezer Meals Fruits & Vegetables Health Foods Kitchen Tools & Organization Leftovers Lunches Making the Most of Food Meals & Meal Planning

Meats & Poultry Meals on the Go Organizing Recipes & Coupons Pantry & Food Storage Price Books Recipes Restaurants Saving Time Shopping Tips & Tricks Snacks & Desserts Warehouse Clubs
|
Home & Auto

This Week In Home & Auto Air Conditioning Appliances Automobiles Buying Cleaning Consumer Protection Crafts Debt

Energy Finances Furniture Gardening Home Decorating Home Equity Home Repair Houses: Buy/Sell Insurance Investments Mortgages

Natural Living Organization Pests Plumbing Property Management Recycling Space Management Taxes Time Management Utilities
|
Lifestyle

This Week In Lifestyle Beauty Buying Canadian Interest Charity Christmas Cleaning Tips Clothing College Coupons Crafts

Furniture Gardening General Advice Groceries & Food Health Hobbies Holidays Home Decorating Insurance Medical Care Miscellaneous Natural Living

Organization Parties & Entertaining Pets Recipes Recycling Refunding Single Living Space Management Time Management Vacations Voluntary Simplicity
|
Baby Boomers

This Week In Baby Boomers Finances Funerals Health

Insurance Investments IRA's Legal Issues Medical Care

Mortgages Moving Retirement Savings Taxes Vacations
|
Family

This Week In Family Automobiles Babies Budgeting Cash Management Children Christmas Clothing College Crafts Daycare Debt

Dentistry Divorce Earning Money Education Expenses Family Activities Gardening Health Holidays Homeschooling Investments Marriage Medical Care

Miscellaneous One Income Families Organization Parties & Entertaining Recipes Romance Savings School Single Parents Taxes Time Management Vacations
|
20 Somethings

This Week In 20 Somethings Appliances Automobiles Budgeting College Consumer Protection Credit Cards and Repair Credit Scores Credit Unions

Earning Money Education Family Activities Finances General Advice Home Decorating Home Equity Home Repair Homeschooling Houses: Buy/Sell Insurance

Investments IRA's Marriage Mortgages Moving Retirement Savings Space Management Taxes Weddings Working
|
In Critical Condition

This Week In Critical Condition Automobiles Banking

Budgeting Consumer Protection Credit Cards and Repair

Credit Scores Debt Emergencies Taxes Working
|

Is credit monitoring worth it?

Credit Monitoring Comparison

Each person is entitled to a free credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus (go to www.annualcreditreport.com). There may also be situations that also make you eligible for free credit reports, such as getting turned down for credit, suspecting errors due to fraud and being unemployed. So why does one need a credit monitoring service?

Getting your credit report once a year may not be enough. Even if you're organized enough to order a report every four months (example - order from Experian in January, Equifax in May, and TransUnion in September), that may not be frequent enough to observe the changes and to react in a timely manner. Most people don't request their annual credit reports and remain unaware of its contents.

It is important to understand what a credit monitoring service does not do. Most services do not monitor changes to your credit score. You may have to purchase a separate product to learn what your score is. Most services do not prevent ID theft. There are other services that proport to do this by monitoring public records and internet activity. They will also put a freeze on pre-approved credit card offers, but that is a service you can perform for yourself (see https://www.optoutprescreen.com).

A credit monitoring service can be a tool to obtain copies of credit reports more often than once a year, learn your credit score, be notified promptly of changes to your credit report, and be notified when someone makes an inquiry from one of the credit bureaus. Below is a comparison of subscription services so you can decide if it's worth it for your situation.

Ala Carte	Price	Bureau(s) Monitored	# Bureau Credit Reports per year	# Credit Reports per year	# Credit Score Reports per year	Lock/Unlock Credit Report	Automatic Fraud Alert	Web Detect	FICO Score Monitored
Equifax Credit Report™	$11.00
Equifax Credit Report™ with Equifax Credit Score Power®	$15.95
Equifax 3-in-1 Credit Report	$29.95
Experian Credit Report	$ 0.00
Experian Credit Report with Experian Credit Score	$15.00
Experian VantageScore® - Experian Credit Score	$7.95
TransUnion 3-in-1 Credit Report with FICO® Score	$34.95
TransUnion Credit Report with FICO® Score	$14.95
FICO Standard - FICO Score from 1 Bureau of your choice	$15.95
Credit Bureau Products	Price	Bureau(s) Monitored	# 3 Bureau Credit Reports per year	# Credit Reports per year	# Credit Score Reports per year	Lock/Unlock Credit Report	Automatic Fraud Alert	Web Detect	FICO Score Monitored
Experian Triple Advantage®	$14.95/mo.	All 3
ProtectMyID.com (by Experian)	$9.95/mo.	All 3						Yes
TransUnion Credit Monitoring	$19.95/qtr.	TransUnion		4 TransUnion	4 TransUnion
Equifax Credit Watch™	$12.95/mo.	Equifax					Yes
Equifax ID Patrol™	$14.95/mo.	All 3	1	Unlimited Equifax		Equifax - in real time	Yes	Yes
Independent Products	Price	Bureau(s) Monitored	# 3 Bureau Credit Reports per year	# Credit Reports per year	# Credit Score Reports per year	Lock/Unlock Credit Report	Automatic Fraud Alert	Web Detect	FICO Score Monitored
TrueCredit	$14.95/mo.	All 3	every 30 days		all 3 - every 30 days	TransUnion
myFICO Score Watch®	$14.95/mo.				2 Equifax				Yes
FICO® Quarterly Monitoring	$4.95/mo.				4 TransUnion

Contact the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton FL 34280
941-761-7805

"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation.