Last August, The Motley Fool, one of the most entertaining personal finance and investing websites out there, published an article called the 8 Commandments of Credit that I feel every consumer should read. Some of the commandments are common sense, some of them may not apply, but an educated consumer has a duty to read and understand what these rules mean and ensure that they follow them. They address some of the tactic that credit card companies use to try to extract as much money as they can from unsuspecting consumers like you and I. In this series I will elaborate on some of these commandments and give my personal take.

Commandment VI. See yourself through others’ eyes.

This tip is another good one, from a general personal finance perspective; review your credit report from the three major reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) and you can get a free report each year because of a federal mandate. Review your report for errors, omissions, and inaccuracies because each one of those will reduce your credit score, which will affect what sort of rates you’ll get on loans - including car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. It’s imperative that you review your report every few months to ensure your credit history is being correctly recorded.

Source: The Motley Fool