The United States Congress has guaranteed a free once-a-year glimpse into your credit files. But, how do you keep an eye both on your credit and on costs? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Catch mistakes before they make it to your report. Double-check your [tag]credit card[/tag] and other lending statements to make sure you were credited for last month’s payment and that all charges are yours.

2. Stagger your free reports for year-round monitoring. The only place to get your federally guaranteed [tag]free credit report[/tag] is through the annual credit request service.

For the complete list, chick here.

 50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit: Everything You Need to Know About Identity Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit Reports