Avoid third-party services that offer to find out your credit score

There’s little to no reason to use paid services, as you can access your credit score for free from any of the three main credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion or Experian. While you can only do this periodically, credit scores tend to be consistent enough and they probably won’t change very much before you can check again. Another alternative is to use a credit card with this perk — these rarely, if ever, limit how often you can check.