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With the economy the way it is, many people are (rightfully) concerned about their credit report, since that can and does determine a wide range of financial issues (including interest rates on credit cards, mortgage payments, etc). Â It is no wonder that the topic of credit scores and reports has obtained such a high level of popularity lately. Â This guide will explain the difference between the two and will point the reader in the right direction to obtain a free credit score and report.

What is a Credit Score? A Credit Report?

While it seems that the two are the same, they are not, in fact, synonyms. Â A credit report is a summary or record of your financial history that includes all transactions you've had throughout your life. Â These can include taking and repaying loans, using (and abusing) credit cards, owing money to a collection agency, or any other financial transaction you undertake. Â Defaulting on any kind of financial obligation also impacts your credit report. Â The credit report will generally contain your basic financial information along with a record of all your transactions and their outcome. Â If you have had a regular payment, such as a car payment, it will record the history of your payments and will indicate if any of them have been late. Â For loans, they can track if you've paid and if you've ever defaulted on a loan or had a forebearance.

A credit score is basically a numerical representation of the credit report information, and ranges vary depending on which credit bureau creates them. A FICO score, for example, ranges from 300-850; a VantageScore ranges from 501-990. Â The higher the score the better it is.

Where Do I Go For These?

Federal law (in the United States at least) allows each individual in the United States to ask for and receive a free credit report from each of the three main bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Â These credit reports can be obtained annually. Â For a credit score, however, an individual must generally pay for that service. Â Please note that checking your credit score and report can have an adverse effect if you do it too often, although the above free reports shouldn't have that effect.

You can go to http://annualcreditreport.com to receive your reports.

It must be noted that this site differs from http://freecreditreport.com, which is not affiliated with the government and is a pay-for-service website. Â If you would like to sign up for credit monitoring, you may purchase this service there, but this is not the website for free annual reports.