After searching far and wide I am not aware of any websites that will offer you a free estimate of your credit score unless you sign up for something else.  A lot of forums referenced creditkarma.com, but alas creditkarma is no more.  What is the next best thing?  You can find free tools like “What’s Your Credit Range?” tool to get a free estimate of the range you fall under. I know my credit score so I am going to put my information into this tool to see how accurate it is.

The “What’s Your Credit Range?” calculator works by computing your response to 10 questions.  To use the calculator you need to provide the following information:

• Total credit accounts (inlcuding student loans, mortgage, credit cards etc…)
• Toral credit accounts that you are presently late on
• Loans & credit cards applied for in the last two years
• Total number of installment loans
• Credit limit
• Judgment, bankruptcy, tax lien
• Date most recent credit card or loan was opened

The Credit Range Calculator put me in a Low-Medium Risk Range which is better than the average American consumer.  As someone who has been in school forever, my credit history isn’t that lengthy.   The difference between my lowest score and my highest score (or the range) was 70 points.  My actual score is within the range provided by the credit range calculator so, I would say this is an accurate estimate of where you stand.

I recently found out that I have a library fine of $4.60 at my local public library for not turning in my books on time. I believe this was my first library fine. My library typically gives you a 1 day grace period and then they charge. And guess what? I went to turn it in one day after the grace period! I hate that I am essentially throwing out $5 for failing to pay attention to the due date. I warrant this is not going to happen again.

So, since the last time I was at the library I didn’t have any cash on me I went back to the library today to pay my fine and to renew some books. But, the library couldn’t accept my money because their system was down. And this got me wondering, can little things like late library fines affect your credit score?

According to an MSN MoneyCentral article it may. Local governments in an effort to recoup some of the billons of unpaid debt have turned to private collection agencies that tend to report unwillingness to pay to credit agencies. So be careful when you get a library fine the next time and be sure to pay it off!

Local governments…increasingly turn to private collection agencies, which typically report the unpaid amounts to the credit bureaus as part of their efforts to pressure consumers into paying the fines. The collectors may add late fees or other charges that increase the balance.   The bottom line:  Pay your fines promptly.