The credit bureaus are more than happy to charge you for your credit score, but you don’t need to pay if you know where to look. There are two major online companies right now which offer consumers a free credit score based on the information found in their credit reports. To be clear, these are not the FICO credit score, which is the industry standard. But the scores are based on the same data and should be a good representation of your FICO score.

Few financial figures are as important as a credit scores. The three-digit figure has a major impact on daily life — dictating what consumers can buy, how much credit they can obtain and even where they choose to reside.

If you’re a little savvy about credit, you probably know that each of us is entitled to a free copy of our credit report, once a year, from each of the three main credit-reporting agencies. You can access these easily online at annualcreditreport.com — and if you’re willing to pay a few dollars, you can get your credit score, as well.

Get My Free Credit Report — Find your credit score instantly, by requesting your free credit report with no credit card needed from all 3 major credit bureaus. Strike back against identify-theft by obtaining your credit history and working to remove errors in your data. Take the first step towards repairing your credit history today!

A credit score is either a blessing or a curse cast down upon you from the digital cloud. A score of 740 qualifies you for the best interest rate on a conventional mortgage. A score under 640 means ugly interest, and a number under 620 makes it very hard to get a mortgage at all.