You took the time to order your credit report online or by mail.
Why? Because you're wise enough to know that credit is vital to know where you stand before you make any large purchase. Should you expect to receive the best rate and terms? Is there room to negotiate or will you have to take whatever you can get? You open the credit report and place it on the table. All these companies, accounts, numbers and dates -- what does it all mean?

The first sheet of your single or merged credit report will always contain your personal information.
Be sure to check the personal information in your credit report carefully. If you notice any addresses, birth dates or phone numbers that do not belong to you, be sure to dispute it so the credit bureau will correct it. It's easy to do. Inquiries can now be done online. For your reference, those website addresses are Equifax.com, Transunion.com, and Experian.com. Look for the "dispute" section and follow each step. Print out a copy for your reference. A confirmation by mail should arrive in a few weeks. Review it to make sure the correction has been made.

The next section of the credit report will usually be a list of accounts.
The second section of the credit report lists your adverse accounts and also your non-adverse (i.e. good) accounts. If you have or recently had a lot of credit, you will find page after page of accounts. Verify all creditor names, account numbers, date opened and amounts. If you find anything that you're not sure is yours, check it against your records. Go back online and dispute if needed. This is not uncommon. Due to human error, a large portion of credit reporting information is incorrect.

One of the last sections of your credit report is the inquiry section.
The inquiry section of your credit report lists the companies to which you have applied for credit and their addresses. These inquiries stay on your credit report for two years. Too many inquiries in a short time period isn't good. It's better to give a copy of your credit to a creditor rather than have your credit report pulled each time you shop a car or mortgage deal around.

Somewhere in the credit report will be instructions to follow in the event of incorrect information.
A mailing address and phone number will be included in case you do not want to dispute information online. In many cases, you'll also receive information regarding your rights as a consumer.

Credit reports and reporting are constantly changing.
As of December 1, 2004, a new law was enacted that grants each consumer a yearly credit report for free. Log on to MyFICO.com for information. Prior to the effective date of this new legislation, credit bureaus began charging a separate fee for credit scores. Credit information is great to have, but it's the cumulative score of your credit report that will make the real difference in your finances.