Credit score Q&A: “How to get your credit score for free.”

If you don’t already know your credit score, you’ll probably want to see where you stand on the credit score range, especially if you plan to apply for a credit card or another type of loan.

But how can you get your credit score for free?

Well, you won’t be able to get a free credit score from the government.

AnnualCreditReport.com, which was created by the three major credit reporting bureaus in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act , only provides free credit reports once annually.

These credit reports DO NOT contain credit scores of any kind, free or otherwise.

When you pull a credit report from their site, you’ll be given the option to pay for your credit score afterwords.

This is clearly not the way to go, given the fact that there are a number of services that allow you to get your credit score for free.

Free Credit Scores with Trial

Keep in mind that you will need to pony up your credit card if you want to obtain your credit score free of charge.

Free credit score providers only tend to offer up your credit scores for free if you agree to enroll in a trial credit score monitoring program.

This means you’ll be charged on a monthly basis if you fail to cancel before the trial period ends.

Some users may want to pay for this service if they’re tracking changes to their credit scores while carrying out disputes and taking other measures to raise their credit score.

Or if they’re monitoring their credit history in order to detect any suspicious activity.

Get All 3 Credit Scores

Just be sure to go with a company that provides all 3 credit scores, not just one. It’s important to

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Australians have been warned to be wary when using their credit cards on shopping trips and to opt to use chip technology wherever possible.

Peter Arnold, financial analyst at Canstar Cannex, observed that 76 per cent of new pieces of plastic have a chip up 64 percentage points compared with three years ago, reports National Features.

However, he urged Aussies not be complacent when shopping, because the success of chip technology in preventing fraud relies on merchants having a chip and PIN device.

“If the card reader does not have a chip reader, users will still need to swipe their card so will still be open to skimming,” he warned.

Skimming involves the theft of credit card information during a legitimate transaction and is usually done by someone photocopying receipts or using an electronic device to swipe and store the details of the intended victim.

Mason Hooper, RSA Security fraud specialist, said this method can be easier than stealing a wallet.

It can often be easy for credit card holders to push the interest rates that they will end up paying to the back of their mind, so that they don’t have to feel guilty about making a purchase. Yet, the fact is that credit cards are expensive and any borrower who knows how to add up exactly how much their Visa or Mastercard is costing them, including the interest and fees, is going to be ahead of the game, and make better informed buying decisions.

The first type of cost that consumers should consider is their annual fee. This is usually a small, token amount, but should not be overlooked. A $99 a year annual fee still costs the card holder $1200 every ten years, which should be considered against the card that does not charge an annual fee at all. W

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In a move that could boost solar energy use in homes, Google Inc. is creating a $280-million fund to help finance rooftop installations.

The Internet search giant, an avid investor in renewable energy technologies, said the deal with SolarCity, a solar panel installation company based in San Mateo, Calif., is the largest green investment it has ever made.

“Google’s leading the way and other companies could follow suit,” said Lyndon Rive, chief executive of SolarCity. “It’s not just about a dramatic environmental impact, it’s also a good return.”

The Solar Energy Industries Assn., a trade group, said residential installations nationwide have grown steadily and are expected to keep expanding this year. Read full article…

If you’re a small business, one of the goals of your marketing strategy is to drive more traffic to your website, where you can convert those visitors into leads.

To generate traffic, you need to publish great content that is interesting and useful to your target market.  You can write a blog, newsletter, white papers, press releases, articles, how-to guides, whatever, and then you’ll push out all of that content to your audience via email or social media.

Well, how about tapping into an audience on social media that goes way beyond your followers?

Check out this Baltimore-based startup, SocialToaster.  I first wrote about them for Tech Cocktail back in March.  I have zero affiliation with them, but their idea – and the technology behind it – is really interesting and super useful for small businesses, so sharing them here at GrowSmartBiz has been on my to-do list for a while.

So, here’s how they work:  Ask customers, employees, Facebook fans, and anyone else you’d like to be your ambassador (their term, not mine).  You’ll share content with them, and they will spread the content on their social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn).  Naturally, there are built-in analytics so you can track website visitors to see which ambassador sent them.

SocialToaster is a great way to gain brand exposure and build up your sales funnel, but it is dependent on you producing content on a regular basis.  You don’t need to g

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