Free, cited, no sign-up
Play nine holes of credit
Nine decisions people really face, three clubs each, par 27. Every shot tells you what happens and which page says so. Then take the calculators home.
- holes, each a real decision
- 9
- par, 3 on every hole
- 27
- free calculators to take home
- 2
- sources cited, CFPB, FTC and statute
- 13
The first tee: hole 1, par 3
Read the course
You want to know what lenders see about you before you apply for anything.
Birdie: 2 strokes
Federal law makes your reports free, and you can view them online once a week. Asking for your own report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score.
Your credit reports are the course every lender plays on. Reading them is free, weekly, and does not count against you.
Sources: CFPB: How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?; CFPB: Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score?; AnnualCreditReport.com, the free reports site authorized by federal law
Bogey: 4 strokes
You can get the same reports for free. Paying is not wrong, just a stroke you did not need to take.
The best play: Pull your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. Federal law makes your reports free, and you can view them online once a week. Asking for your own report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score.
Your credit reports are the course every lender plays on. Reading them is free, weekly, and does not count against you.
Sources: CFPB: How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?; CFPB: Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score?; AnnualCreditReport.com, the free reports site authorized by federal law
Double bogey: 5 strokes
It does not. Checking your own report has no effect on your score, and skipping it means an error can sit there unseen.
The best play: Pull your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. Federal law makes your reports free, and you can view them online once a week. Asking for your own report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score.
Your credit reports are the course every lender plays on. Reading them is free, weekly, and does not count against you.
Sources: CFPB: How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?; CFPB: Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score?; AnnualCreditReport.com, the free reports site authorized by federal law
The yardage book
Nine holes, par 27
The best play on each is a birdie. Every hole is drawn in its own shape; open one to read it.
- Read the courseHole 1, par 3, best 2
- The water hazardHole 2, par 3, best 2
- The late tee timeHole 3, par 3, best 2
- The old driverHole 4, par 3, best 2
- Shopping the pro shopHole 5, par 3, best 2
- The wrong ballHole 6, par 3, best 2
- The hustlerHole 7, par 3, best 2
- First roundHole 8, par 3, best 2
- The friendly wagerHole 9, par 3, best 2
The pro shop, all free
Take the calculators home
- CalculatorCredit utilization calculatorEnter each card's balance and limit. See the share of your limit you use, card by card and overall, and what it would take to get under 30 percent.
- CalculatorCredit card payoff calculatorEnter a balance, its APR and what you can pay each month. See how long it takes, what the interest costs, and how a bigger payment changes both.
- For your siteFree calculators for your siteCopy one line of HTML to put the utilization or payoff calculator on your own page. Free, no sign-up, no tracking.
The rules of this course
- 13sources behind the holes. Every stroke is this site's judgment of a choice, grounded in the CFPB, FTC or statute page the hole cites. Read every hole.
- 0credit scores computed. Credit Golf is a game, not a score: strokes are not points of any scoring model, and nothing here predicts one.
- 0of your answers sent anywhere. The game, the calculators and the widgets run in your browser; your best round stays on this device.
Facing one of these for real? Credit Help has first steps, and Credit Yoga sends one calm habit a week.