"The credit-scoring companies have figured out how to profit on the anxiety of consumers with credit watch and credit monitoring and all of these add-on programs," said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. "When companies find a way to profit off of anxiety, they have an incentive to create anxiety." This reveals the problematic relationship between consumer anxiety and corporate profit motivations.
What these companies won't tell you is that the best things to help ease your credit-related worries are cheap, even free. You can check your credit regularly at no cost from a lot of sources - your credit-card company likely tells you your score, and you can access your report weekly free of charge too.
Even if you're pretty sure it's fine, the topic is often enough to cause a moment of panic, a sinking feeling followed by an 'Oh God, what if something's happened?' This highlights the pervasive anxiety individuals feel about their credit scores.
That little three-digit number is a big deal in our financial lives. It serves as a sort of grade for how you handle money. An A gets you approval for an apartment and a decent rate on your car loan; an F gets your rental application turned down.
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