Do you check your credit score often enough? 

Credit Score

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Personal Finance

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Team MONEYME|23 May 2023| 3-minute read

Your credit score is a number with a whole lot of power. It may determine whether or you not you get approved for your next loan.  

That’s just one of the reasons why you should keep your eye on it. Here are the rest.  

Why should you care about your credit score at all? 🤷🏽​️​ 

Your credit score is a number based on your credit history. It indicates how reliable you are with borrowing money, by taking into account how reliable you’ve been in the past. A lot of your credit and payment behaviours impact your credit score – both good and bad. That includes how you manage your utility bills and credit repayments (on time or late), loan applications (successful or unsuccessful), and the rest (from defaults to bankruptcies to court cases).  

When you apply for a loan, your lender will look at your credit score amongst other factors. If it’s not up to scratch, it will be harder to get approval. But, the good news is, you can take steps to improve it. The more you improve your financial habits, the more your score will increase. Little things can make a big difference – like making repayments on time, every time. 

Keep up with yourself 🏋🏻 

Forget the Joneses. It’s more important to keep up with yourself. Check your credit score regularly – and you’ll see how your money habits are impacting it.  

This will help you better understand what’s driving your credit score up or down, and help you boost your financial wellness and build a good credit history over time. 

Plus, if you’re taking steps to improve, and see your score soar, you’re more likely to keep it up. (By the way: tips to help you start reversing bad money habits are over here). 

Keep up with the cheats 🤥 

It’s not just yourself you need to keep an eye on. One of the downsides of our increasingly digital world is scammers. If they get hold of your personal details, they could try and use those to take out credit in your name. While banks and lenders have fraud teams looking out for suspicious activity, cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated and, sometimes, their fraudulent schemes can slip under the radar. 

But, by watching your credit score like a hawk, you’ll be one step ahead. Jump on dodgy activity on your credit file as soon as it pops up – whether it’s credit applications or accounts you don’t recognise. 

While you’re at it, you can look out for honest mistakes, too. Credit reporters are only human. Every now and again, an error might appear. It’s good to get it fixed as soon as you see it, as if it’s on your credit file, it will likely impact your credit score. 

So, what’s the catch? 🎣 

Are there any downsides to checking your credit score? Maybe you’re wondering if it’ll make you look like you have a cash flow problem.  

Not at all. Checking it on a credit score tool like ours has no impact whatsoever on your credit score. 

On the other hand, when you apply for credit (like a personal loan or credit card) the lender will make what’s known as a ‘hard credit enquiry’ – this does go on your credit file and can impact your score. 

What’s the golden number? 🏅 

Is there a magic number for how often you should check your score?  

Typically, your credit score is updated once a month. So, to stay on top of what’s going on with your score we recommend checking monthly.  

If you lose your wallet, credit card or driver’s licence, or find out you’ve been involved in a data breach, it’s a good idea to keep an even closer eye on your score. 🕵️ 

Get on the bandwagon 🚙 

Ready to make better friends with your credit score? Download the MONEYME app and start now. It takes just a few seconds, plus you can track your score over time and get personalised tips to help boost your score. 

Check your score for free

Do you know your credit score? Download the MONEYME app to check your score for free today.