If you live in the Midwest, this is a timely reminder for you. Starting from tomorrow (March 1), you can order your free credit report from any of the three credit reporting agencies once every year. Below is the strategy guide to get your free report from Experian, and if you are interested, PFBlog also published reviews on free credit report from Equifax and TransUnion.

STEP 1. Go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/, the official portal for free credit reports from all three agencies. Choose your state of residence. (Free credit reports are being rolled out across the country so if your state is not yet covered for now, you will be notified when you can have access. Southern states will have access by June 1, 2005 and Eastern states by September 1, 2005.)

STEP 2. You need to enter some of your personal information to validate you are the owner of the identity. Such information includes name, date of birth, date of birth, social security number, current address, and, if you live in your current address for less than two years, previous address as well.

STEP 3. The next screen will allow you to choose from one of the three CRAs: TransUnion, Experian, Equifax. Choose Experian and you will be leaving Annualcreditreports.com.

STEP 4. Now that you are at Experian's site. Experian will ask you to confirm the last four digits of your social security number first.

STEP 5. Then, Experian will ask you some multiple-choice security questions to further confirm you are who you are. Questions include choosing the street name of the address you ever lived, and picking up the name of your mortgage company.

STEP 6. Once Experian confirms your identity, your credit report is ready for your study. Experian's version includes the following information:

- Potentially negative items
- Accounts in good standing
- Requests for your credit history
- Personal Information (names, addresses, etc.)
- Your personal statement

Compared with TransUnion and Equifax, Experian's free credit report is more streamlines -- it does not push to sell you anything before you get your report. There is, however, a link in your credit report that tries to sell you credit scores, but it is nothing intrusive.

Now that I have tested for you free credit report from all three agencies, a word of caution: you probably don't want to order all three reports at once. Get a free report from a different agency every 3-4 months might be the best option who want to regularly monitor personal credit profile.