Financial Planner

Checklist: Credit Report

Things to do this weekend with your money

Credit experts recommend checking your credit report at least once a year, and new online services make it easier to review your credit standing.

* For the first time, you can view your own “FICO” credit score, the three-digit number used by most lenders to determine your credit-worthiness. Go to www.scorepower.com, a Web site run by credit bureau Equifax and leading credit scorer Fair, Isaac & Co. For $12.95, you can see your score and read an explanation of the four major factors that determined your number, as well as get tips about how to improve your credit standing.

* Equifax and its competitors, Experian and Trans Union, also offer copies of your credit report for $8 to $8.50. (On the Score Power Web site, the cost of the credit report is included in the $12.95 fee.) To order reports online, visit each credit bureau at its Web site (www.equifax.com, www.experian.com and

www.transunion.com). Or you can call Experian at (800) 311-4769, Trans Union at (800) 916-8800 or Equifax at (800) 685-1111 to arrange to have a copy of your report mailed to you.

* If you find mistakes in your credit report, follow the credit bureaus’ instructions on how to launch an investigation. Equifax, for example, allows consumers to demand an investigation of incorrect items online.