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2024 Consumer Debt Doesn’t Look So Well

In Equifax’s article about consumer debt, they have analyzed the most recent data on U.S. consumer debt from the Federal Reserve and have found that 2024 is off to a bad start financially. The total U.S. consumer debt was $17.39 trillion in March 2024, an increase of 2.6% from March 2023.

Mortgage debt is most of American’s largest debt, exceeding other types by a wide margin. Student loans are the next largest type of debt among, followed closely by auto loans. The debt for mortgages including home equity loans were $12.65 trillion, a 72.8% share of total debt, while non-mortgage consumer debt totaled $4.73 trillion, with 34.6% of non-mortgage consumer debt attributable to auto loans and leases and 32.0% attributable to student loans.

a credit report analysis

How Do You Get Your AnnualCreditReport?

AnnualCreditReport.com is a website that offers free access to your credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You’re entitled to a free report from each main credit bureau: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, every year. AnnualCreditReport is a safe and secure way to get all three reports quickly and easily, but these reports don’t show you your credit scores. Below are the steps neededs to take when requesting a report from AnnualCreditReport:

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What Is An AnnualCreditReport?

AnnualCreditReport.com is a website that offers free access to your credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can request your credit reports by providing some personal information and answering a few questions to verify your identity. You’re entitled to a free report from each main credit bureau: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, every year. AnnualCreditReport is a safe and secure way to get all three reports quickly and easily, but these reports don’t show you your credit scores.

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What Is A FICO Score?

What is a FICO Score? FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. Fair Isaac Corporation was one of the first companies to develop a method for calculating consumer credit scores based on information collected by credit reporting agencies.

The FICO score is a numerical representation of your creditworthiness. While there are other credit scoring models available, such as VantageScore, the FICO score is considered the most widely known. It’s used by many major banks and lenders to evaluate a borrower’s credit risk when making lending decisions.

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What is A FAKO Score?

So what is a FAKO score you might be asking yourself? A FAKO score is a term that refers to any credit score that’s not a FICO score. A FICO score is the most commonly looked at credit score by lenders. A FAKO score is literally any score that is not a FICO score. Some companies such as Credit Karma & Credit Sesame provide FAKO scores and almost never refer to the scores they offer as FAKO. They are usually referred to as educational scores or simply credit scores.

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Are Credit Monitoring Services Worth It?

It’s no secret that identity theft has been an issue for consumers. However, there is a solution that can help detect issues early on which is credit monitoring. With a credit monitoring service you can track your accounts and receive alerts to any changes or suspicious activity on your credit report, giving you time to start the process of undoing any damage that’s been done.

Your credit history can have an impact on your ability to make big financial decisions, like purchasing a home or buying a new car. If your credit report has any negative information on it, your credit score will drop and you could be denied for many things.