I can't believe that I still hear this credit myth all the time. After five years in the credit industry, I've helped educate consumers on all sorts of credit and personal finance topics. Most of it has stuck, people now know that they have credit scores and credit reports and understand the basics of how the system works. But there is one myth that simply will not die:

I heard that the more often I run a credit report, the lower my score becomes. Is this true?

I was asked this yesterday by a college friend!  It is absolutely not true that checking your own credit report lowers your credit report. Whoever is out there spreading this rumor, please stop!

Your credit score is dinged when a creditor or lender checks your credit data for the purpose of an application. If you are using your buddy down at the car dealership to get free credit reports, this could harm your credit score (it looks like an application to the bureaus). But your credit score will remain untouched if you are checking your own credit data online through a retailer or www.annualcreditreport.com.

Stop this credit myth today! Turn to the person sitting next to you right now and say "hey, did you know that checking your own credit doesn't harm your credit score?" Please! If we work together maybe we can stop the world's worst credit myth.