This article was originally published in March, but it’s very relevant, and considering the holidays coming up, you might be glad for this information. Keep reading for an insider tip on the perfect time of year to dispute items on your credit report.

To be a wise consumer and make smart financial decisions, you need to be aware of your buying power, which is a combination of cash and credit available to you. Most people would prefer to use cash, and I think that’s smart, but in case of a crisis and the possibility that you may need to use your credit for any reason, you should know what you have to work with.

You need to know how to get your credit report, we’ll use Experian as our example credit report company because they are the company I am most familiar with and have worked with the most, so I can take you through this step by step.

Here is a step by step guide through the Experian call to obtain your credit report by mail.

The number to call to get your credit report from them if you haven’t in the last year or you’ve been denied credit in the last three months is 1 888 EXPERIAN (1-888-397-3742).

~System (female voice) says it registers your zip code to help identify you when you call, for accuracy and privacy

~She’ll offer you a free trial package if you press 1
~Then press 2 for credit reports
~Then press 1 to get your personal report
~There’s a blurb
~States if you’ve been denied credit in the last 60 or some days to press 1
~To buy with credit card press 2
~With check or debit card press 3
~Press 4 for free disclosure of credit file.
If you press option 4 it tells you to go to a website to check eligibility to get it for
free, so push option 1 (I always did that whether I had recently been denied or not)
~Another blurb then it says if you want it by mail stay on the line - you have to do it this way if you want it free
~Then it asks for your social security number then press #
~It will repeat it back to you for verification; press 1 if right, wrong press 2
~Asks for your date of birth in the following format: 01011990, then press #; press 1 if right, wrong press 2
~Then it asks for your zip code then press #
~Asks for the numerical portion of your address (your house number) then press #
~Then it’ll give you a 9 digit confirmation number.

After this call you’ll just have to wait a few days to get your credit report, then you can use the credit report number at the top of your report, that you’ll read about later, to dispute items you found on that report, to improve your credit score.

Here’s the insider tip I promised, disputing items on your credit report around the holiday season is the best time to do so because all of the agencies that extend credit are busy with increasing credit limits for their customers and don’t spend as much time responding to credit disputes as other times in the year, say, slower times of the year…. ssshhh!

Don’t tell anybody! Check back tomorrow for more great info!