This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Credit Sesame. All opinions are 100% my own.

A topic I write about quite often on the blog is personal finance. I cover saving money, making money, and creating a budget.

But one thing I haven’t talked much about is your credit score & identity protection. But these are intertwined with everything I write about, and it’s about time I addressed it!

Every month or so, either my husband or I pull our credit reports. We like to see if everything looks ok – we look for things like accounts we didn’t open ourselves or drastic changes to our scores.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), there are several important reasons you should stay on top of your personal credit situation:

• Your credit score matters when making a purchase that requires a loan (like buying a car or home).
• Your credit can impact your ability to get a new job (some employers do credit checks as part of the application process).
• Someone may open a fraudulent account in your name without your knowledge, leading to unpaid bills in your name, which damages your credit score.

These types of things are too important to leave to chance – you never know when you might lose your job and need a new one…..only to find out your credit is messed up. Or you might get in a car wreck tomorrow, find your car totaled, and suddenly find yourself in the market for a new vehicle.

You just never know!

Free Credit Score

You can get your credit score checked for free every month using a service like Credit Sesame. Not only will they check your score, they’ll also give you personalized savings advice.

Free Credit Monitoring & Identity Theft Protection

In addition to a free monthly credit score report, Credit Sesame also offers free credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

Credit monitoring is a step beyond simple credit score checking. This is where you’ll get real-time alerts when changes (such as an account is opened in your name) occur that affect your credit.

By getting real-time notifications, you’ll be able to verify that anything significant is something YOU meant to do. If any errors are detected, then you’ll be able to take swift action to fix the errors.

Credit Sesame’s identity theft protection is a feature you received automatically with free credit monitoring. Their protection gives you $50,000 in identity theft insurance, plus live access to talk to identity restoration specialists.

All three of these services – credit score, credit monitoring, and identity theft protection – are 100% free and no credit card is required to enroll.

Visit Credit Sesame online for more information about enrolling.