In today's economy with rising gas prices, inflation, the mortgage crisis and higher unemployment rates, it is not suprising that the number of bankruptcy cases being filed is on the rise. However,
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not for everyone. I am commonly asked as to what alternatives to bankruptcy there are.
One of those alternatives is credit protection programs. A credit protection program charges a monthly fee to basically monitor your credit score and alert you if something bad happens. These are mostly online credit protection programs that hook you into a yearly membership fee.
Here is the truth on these things:
1. They first claim they will access a 3-in-1 credit report for you for a price. This is unnecessary as you can obtain the same information for free by going to
AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. They also offer to monitor your credit activity every business day, but you can do the exact same thing by watching your bank statements.
3. If you feel like you must have a regular update on your credit report, instead of paying over $140 per year to one of these credit protection programs, you can sign up for this service at
myFICO.com or one of the three credit bureaus and you will save over $100.00.
Finally, just monitoring your credit file will not necessarily mean you will be able to maintain or improve your credit score. There are several steps that you can take to stay on track without paying someone to do it. The first step should be to order a copy of my free book
"10 Must Know Secrets to the Life You Dreamed of After Bankruptcy".
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