SUMMARY
- Managing your credit becomes easier when you understand the simple steps behind how it works.
- A structured, week-by-week approach helps build better financial habits.
- Review your credit reports and become familiar with your credit score.
- Knowing how factors such as payment history, balances, and account age influence your score helps you make smarter decisions.
- Take intentional steps to strengthen your credit and improve your overall financial health.
If you’ve ever felt confused about credit reports and credit scores, you’re not alone. Many people feel like they’re playing a game without knowing the rules. The good news? Improving your credit is straightforward once you understand the basics.
In this month’s Freedom 30, you’ll learn how to check your credit report, understand your credit score, and take simple steps to improve it over time.
What is The Freedom 30 Program?
The Freedom 30 Program is a year-long financial literacy program developed with our friends at Balance. The idea is simple: spend 30 minutes per week improving your finances.
Each month has a specific financial wellness theme, and each week includes one manageable mini-project. You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight, just make consistent progress. If you didn’t have the chance to start the program in January, don’t worry. You can always add catch-up sessions to your schedule. Here’s last month’s blog on reducing debt.
This month’s theme: managing your credit rating.
Week 1: How do I get my credit report for free?
You’re in luck! You’re entitled by federal law to your credit reports from the three nationwide credit reporting bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – for free once every 12 months. There’s even a centralized system for accessing your reports featuring a website, telephone number, and mailing address for acquiring your reports.
Where to get your free credit reports:
- Website: annualcreditreport.com
- Phone: 1-877-322-8228
- Mail: Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
The website is typically recommended as the easiest way for getting your reports since you can access them in just a few minutes and print them out or save digital copies.
While other companies may try to lure you into purchasing their reports with special offers or add-ons, you have all the information you need about the contents of your credit reports with the documents you’ll receive via the Annual Credit Report Request Service.
Remember that your reports from each bureau can and usually do contain different information, so it’s a good idea to get separate reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion through the service.
How do I check my credit score?
Unfortunately, there isn’t a federal law mandating free credit scores for people in the U.S. However, it’s becoming more common for companies to offer scores at no cost. Common sources of free scores include:
- Financial institutions
- Credit card companies
- Financial services apps
It’s important to remember that the most crucial score to track is the one your lender will be using. Most commonly, that will be a FICO® Score. If you use our digital banking platform, you can check your credit score once a month for free with no impact on your credit report. If you’re not able to find a way to get your FICO® Score for free, you can buy it for a monthly fee at myfico.com. You’ll have a FICO® Score from each credit bureau: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. If you’re planning a big financial next step, like buying a house, you’ll want to see all three of your scores. If you’re in a learning phase right now, seeing just one of your scores is likely okay.
Takeaway: As this exercise concludes, you should have all three of your major credit reports, at least one credit score, and familiarity with both.
For next week: Start preparing a list of any questions you have about your reports and scores.
Week 2: What factors affect your credit score?
Now that you’ve got your reports and at least one of your scores, it’s time to start learning how all those numbers, words, and symbols apply to your credit standing. While there are a whole lot of rabbit holes you can go down when it comes to credit reports and scores, it’s important to understand the five key factors that go into creating your credit score.
- Payment history (35%): With this being the biggest factor in your score, it’s imperative not to miss any payments. If you have past late payments, remember that the FICO® Score heavily emphasizes the past two years of history. Because of this, you can typically offset the impact of past delinquencies if you’re able to make a lot of prompt payments.
- Amounts owed (30%): This one trips up many people. They always make timely payments, so they don’t understand why their score is so low. Simply put, maxing out on your credit cards or other revolving lines of credit will bring down your score. Your best strategy is to only put amounts on your credit card which you can pay off in full each month.
- Length of credit history (15%): In terms of your FICO® Score, older credit is better. If you’ve had a credit card open for many years, you’re typically better off leaving it open.
- Pursuit of new credit (10%): This area typically isn’t too much of a problem for most people. If you apply for credit only when you need it, you shouldn’t have too many issues with this part of the FICO® Score.
- Types of credit in use (10%): Diversity of credit is looked upon favorably by FICO’s scoring model. If Person A has a long history of on-time payments on a credit card and keeps their balance low, they should have a good credit score as long as there are no negatives on their reports. If Person B has the same credit card history as Person A but also has a history of on-time payments on an auto loan, Person B will have a better FICO® Score.
What is a good credit score?
The full range of the FICO® Score is 300-850. Some lenders will want to see that you score at least 620 before they are open to lending to you. As of April 2025, the average score in the U.S. hovered around 715.* If you’re at 780 or above, typically, you’ll be in the highest bracket, which can help you qualify for lower interest rates on loans or other types of credit. As always, talking to your financial institution about their lending criteria can be invaluable when it comes to borrowing money.
Takeaway: You now understand what goes into your FICO® Score calculation.
For next week: Begin thinking about how the information you saw on your reports pertains to your current score.
Week 3: How can I improve my credit score?
If you’ve been using credit for a while, your reports will contain a hefty amount of information. Now’s the time to break that data into actionable items you can put into an overall strategy for addressing your credit standing.
Using the score factors discussed last week, review your credit reports and take notes on the accounts you believe currently have the most significant negative impact on your credit. Remember, too, that having strong credit isn’t just about diminishing the impact of negative items. It’s also necessary to add positive information. If you have yet to open accounts, it will be challenging to progress on your credit.
Working on your credit often involves removing incorrect items from your reports. Research has shown that 44% of reports contain errors of one kind or another, whether harmless, like a wrong address, or potentially more damaging, like a mistakenly listed collection account.** It’s wise to correct the false data using the dispute process for both types of errors.
Takeaway: At the end of this mini-project, you should have an action plan with at least three tasks to complete to improve your credit standing.
For next week: Make a list of any accounts causing confusion and any next steps that seem unclear.
Week 4: Where can I get help with my credit?
By this point, you’ve absorbed a lot of information. If it feels overwhelming, don’t worry. However, this can be complicated if you’re not used to dealing with credit reports and scores.
Luckily, help is readily available. We offer several resources to help you improve your credit score. Zogo, an online app, offers quick lessons that can help improve your financial skills. Topics cover budgeting, saving, credit, and more. Our education center, in partnership with Balance offers additional information on credit, credit scores, and other important financial topics to help you manage your financial life. If you prefer a one-on-one approach, make an appointment with one of our Certified Financial Counselors. The meeting is free, and they’re ready to listen to your circumstances and offer tailored, candid suggestions to help you control your finances.
Takeaway: You now have your reports, score, action plan, and access to the information and support you need to act confidently and decisively. That’s everything you require to put your credit to work to achieve your financial dreams.
Final thoughts.
Improving your credit doesn’t require drastic changes, just consistent, informed action. By checking your reports, understanding how your score works, and following a simple weekly plan, you can steadily build stronger credit. Over time, these small steps can unlock better financial opportunities, lower interest rates, and greater confidence in your financial future.
This article was developed in partnership with our friends at Balance.
This article is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended as financial or legal advice. Members should contact the Credit Union for guidance regarding their individual situation.
*FICO.com, “Average US FICO Score Drops to 715.” Fico.com. Published 16 April 2025. Accessed 18 March 2026.
**Consumer Reports, “Almost half of participants in Credit Checkup study find errors on credit reports; more than a quarter find serious mistakes.” ConsumerReports.org. Published 30 April 2024. Accessed 18 March 2026.
