Paying off Debt? Credit Monitoring is Key

Credit monitoring is an important service for anyone who cares about his or her finances and who wants to have a handle on whether he is creditworthy enough to get favorable loan rates. However, if you have recently paid off debt or are in the process of paying off debt, credit monitoring becomes especially important.

How Does Credit Monitoring Help in Debt Payoffs

If you are paying off credit card, personal loan, or other consumer debt, using a credit monitoring service is a smart choice. Credit monitoring services through http://www.identityguard.com/ silver, gold, or platinum will all provide you with relevant and timely information about your credit situation, while targeted programs through CreditProtectX3® or CreditProtect® will all help you to keep up to date about what is going on with your credit information.

Using one of these services can be very helpful when paying off debt for many reasons including the following:

• You can track the impact that your debt payoff is having on your credit score. 30 percent of your credit score is determined based on the amount of available credit you are actually using. This is called your “credit utilization” rate. The less of your credit you use, the higher your credit score will go since using less shows that you have a good handle on your debt and that you aren’t in debt trouble. Essentially, this means that as you pay off debt and you lower your utilization, you can see your score going up. That’s an exciting feeling.
• You can see on a regular basis that your payments are being applied and your debt totals are going down. A credit report gives you all of your credit information in one convenient place. This means you can get an overall idea of your debt picture. As you reduce the debt owed, you’ll see on your credit report that your remaining balances grow smaller and smaller. This will help to keep you motivated and keep you on track as you work to repay the debts that you owe.
• You can make sure your hard work isn’t undermined. When you are paying off debt it can sometimes be a struggle, but it is worth it to try to get and stay debt-free or to get rid of toxic debt at high interest rates. However, you don’t want to end up having all your hard work impacted by someone stealing your identity and getting credit in your name that doesn’t get paid. Although you can remove accounts from your credit report that were put there as a result of identity theft, this can take a long time and you need to actually take action to have the accounts removed (which means you need to know the accounts are there). Credit monitoring through IDENTITY GUARD®, CreditProtectX3®, or CreditProtect® helps you to know when something is amiss sooner than you otherwise would, so you can take the right action.

For all of these reasons, it just makes sense to use a credit monitoring service during your journey to repay your debts.

Identity Protection Steps to Take

Identity protection is not something that should be a concern only for small portions of the population who are careless with their credit information. Everyone should be concerned with securing their personal information so they do not fall victim to identity theft. In an information-centric economy with new digital devices being developed every day, it has become even more important than ever for every single person to make smart choices and take responsibility for protecting themselves.

Identity Protection Steps

In order to ensure that you’ve done everything possible to secure your identity, be sure you have taken these identity protection steps:

1. Shred mail and documents with personal identifying information. Whether you have old tax returns, statements from your insurance or mortgage company, credit card solicitations, or anything else with your personal details on it, shredding it is the only smart choice. Anyone can get ahold of mail or papers that are thrown away and can use that information to steal your identity.
2. Be cautious about sharing your personal details, especially your Social Security Number. There are a whole host of tactics used by identity thieves to try to get ahold of information they should not have. Always be wary, and don’t fall victim to the traps set by skilled criminals. If someone calls claiming to be from your bank and trying to “verify” your information, tell them you’ll hang up and call them back (and then use the number you know for your bank). Don’t click on links in e-mails that lead you to sites where your personal info is entered (again, go directly to the site you know), and be cautious that not everything is always as it seems.
3. Watch your data on public networks and unsecured connections. If you have an open WiFi connection in your home or if you are on a public computer or Internet in a public place like a coffee shop, be very careful about entering any personal account details or information. Unsecured networks are, by definition, not secure. Someone with a little know-how could easily access your data.
4. Use passwords that are difficult to guess. If you use your name, your kids’ names, or your birthday as your password or your PIN, it can be easy for people to breach the “security” that a password is supposed to provide. After all, it isn’t very hard to find out someone’s birthday, especially in the age of Facebook and social networking.
5. Take advantage of identity protection services. With a service such as http://www.identityguard.com, you can keep regular tabs on what is going on with your credit report and your personal information. You can even receive updates if certain triggering suspicious events occur. Services like http://www.identityguard.com/ arm you with tools that may help you to fight identity theft more effectively.

If you follow these steps, you can significantly increase the chances that your personal information will remain as it should –personal. Don’t wait for identity theft to happen; take the proper steps for identity protection today by securing your information and getting in touch with IDENTITY GUARD® to start your service.

Credit Report Monitoring Is Important for Everyone

If you have credit cards or take on consumer debt, you probably already know that credit report monitoring is important to you. After all, you want to be sure that the information posted about your accounts is correct, and you want to keep tabs on what is going on with your debt and how your debts and payment history are affecting your credit. However, credit report monitoring isn’t just for individuals who have a lot of credit.

Monitoring your credit report is a smart choice for everyone, regardless of whether they don’t use credit at all, and regardless of whether they are elderly or children. Monitoring your credit report is essential for everyone because this type of monitoring helps you to fight identity theft.

Why Credit Report Monitoring is Important

In addition to keeping tabs on how your own credit and spending decisions affect you, checking your credit report regularly for signs of identity theft is the key reason why you should always have a credit monitoring service such as http://www.identityguard.com silver, gold, or platinum, CreditProtectX3®, or CreditProtect®. Any of these programs will let you have regular access to your credit report so you can spot signs of identity theft early and take action.

Don’t wait until your credit score is damaged to start your credit report monitoring. Sign up for IDENTITY GUARD®, CreditProtectX3®, or CreditProtect® and give yourself the important financial tools you need to help protect your all-important credit score.