How to protect your credit health when money is tight

With nearly two-thirds of Americans feeling financial strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an important time to take an active role in our finances. Making financial plans can feel demotivating if money is tight, but understanding your goals is the key to making productive financial decisions. There are typically two key areas of focus when creating a financial plan: growth and protection. Growth isn’t possible for many people right now given the rise in unemployment and reductions in work hours. However, even if your income is unstable, there are still steps you can take to protect your credit health.

According to week eight of TransUnion’s Consumer Financial Hardship Study, 36% of Americans think it’s very important to monitor their credit score during the current health crisis. They’re absolutely right. Checking your credit scores and reports helps you baseline your credit health and enables you to keep track of any changes to your credit history, which may in turn affect your score.

Accessing and monitoring your credit information is an important part of managing your credit health during COVID-19, so the credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax and Experian) are offering all Americans free weekly credit reports online at annualcreditreport.com through April 20, 2022.