How Often Should You Check Your Credit Score?

The two extremes

Some people never check their credit score until a loan gets rejected.

Others refresh their score every week and panic over every 5-point move.

Both extremes create problems.

Let’s find a middle path.

The real purpose of checking

You don’t check your score to feel happy or sad.

You check it to:

·         spot big changes you didn’t expect,

·         catch errors or fraud early,

·         see if you’re in a reasonable zone for any big plan (home loan, business loan, etc.).

Small day-to-day movements don’t matter much.

A simple rule of thumb

For most people:

·         Once or twice a year is enough as a basic health check.

·         Check before a big application (home loan, big top-up, business expansion).

·         Check after you solve a serious issue (closure, settlement, dispute) to confirm it’s reflected.

If you’re in the middle of stress (restructuring, big business hit), you may want to check a bit more often for a while – but still with purpose.

What frequent checking doesn’t do

·         It doesn’t speed up updates.

·         It doesn’t improve the score by itself.

·         It doesn’t tell lenders anything new.

If you’re pulling your score every few days, you’re just increasing your own anxiety.

Common mistakes

·         Checking very often, then taking impulsive decisions (“I’ll close all cards today”).

·         Never checking, then discovering old, uncorrected issues only when it’s too late.

·         Assuming the score will jump overnight after one good action.

What you can actually do

·         Set a simple rule for yourself:

– once every 6 or 12 months as routine,

– plus once before a big loan,

– plus once after a big cleanup or dispute.

·         When you do check, note key changes: new accounts, closures, any late marks.

·         If you see a big, unexplained drop, don’t panic. Pull the full report and look for:

– new late payments,

– new accounts you didn’t open,

– status changes.

Your credit score is like a health report.

Checking it too rarely is careless. Checking it every week doesn’t make you healthier.

A steady rhythm, combined with steady behaviour, is more powerful than any app notification.