You might be surprised to discover that plenty of people have never laid eyes on their credit report. For these folks, a credit report is a mysterious document that they just hope is accurate. They assume that if their credit applications are getting approved, that must be a sign that all is well in the world of credit.

Then again, this may not surprise you if you are indeed one of these people.

Getting a copy of your credit report isn’t hard, especially since you’re entitled to a free copy annually. Chances are you already know that you’re entitled to your credit report, but have you actually taken a look at it? The truth of the matter is that even if you consistently get approved for credit it does not mean that your report is free of blemishes. There may be errors on your report - or small accounts you simply forgot about - which may not be substantial enough to get you denied for credit but which drag your credit score down nonetheless.

Even if you don’t have a single negative item on your credit report, taking a look at your report can help you realize where you stand with your personal finances. Although it’s true that you can open your monthly statements and figure out how much money you owe to what lenders, there is something about seeing it all laid out in a couple of pages of well-documented facts. Look at the information through the eyes of a potential lender. Do you look like the type of person who may be getting in over your head? In other words, would you lend money to you?

Get a copy of your credit report. Make sure there are no errors on it, and then take a look at the bigger picture. Whether or not you’re current on all your payments, do you owe a bunch of lenders an awful lot of money?

Check your credit report every year to make sure everything is accurate, and also use this time as an annual reflection of the state of your finances.