When I graduated from school and took one look at my student loans, I immediately thought, “how did I make it here knowing nothing about personal finance?”

I felt completely blind-sided, and began a quest to understanding personal finance, something I managed to avoid for a solid 25 years. After listening to Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, I became addicted.

Fast-forward five years, and I’ve learned a lot about money. Here are 10 little nuggets of wisdom that I would’ve liked to know five years ago:

1. Check your credit reports and your credit score annually.

Check your credit reports and credit score annually for free, using AnnualCreditReport.com. Not only will you be aware of your score, but you will know what is on your reports and whether there is any incorrect information listed. This is one way to know whether you’ve been a victim of identity theft.

continue reading »