Do you know your score?

814, you?

Could you imagine if you picked up folks up a bar using your credit score?

Oh, him? He’s a 650. No way.

That guy is a smokin’ hot 780. He can buy me a drink any day. And then pay it off on time next time his credit card statement comes.

If people used their credit scores to pick up each other, you can bet you’d know what yours is. And be working your tail off to get it higher.

As it is, credit scores are like the murky underbelly of personal finance. You know you’ve probably got one, but exactly what it is? Who knows? Kinda like your blood type (is that just me? I have no clue).

And the process of figuring it out? Seriously, could it be any more complicated?

Turns out it’s not, and there are several websites, like Credit Sesame, that can help you figure out your credit score for free.

Getting started is super easy. You answer a few questions about yourself and provide the last 4 digits of your social security number (tip: if you ever have to provide personal information on the internet, make sure the website address has an s in the http section – it should look like https and that s means it’s secure – it’s the same type of protection banks use).

Then you’ll get your credit score from TransUnion, you can opt to sign up for a premium account to get access to all 3 credit bureaus, but honestly, the main free option is enough to give you a good idea of where you stand.

Why do they offer this for free? Well, your credit score influences which credit cards you can qualify for – if your credit score is really high, you can get credit cards with lots of great rewards options (although also often pretty high interest – so if you don’t pay off your credit cards every month, they probably are not the best choice for you). After you get your credit score at Credit Sesame, they suggest several cards that could be great options for you.

Credit Sesame let me know that the Chase Freedom with up to 5% cash back is a great card that I would almost certainly qualify for. Checking out your credit score before applying for any new cards is a great idea. It can give you a better picture of what kinds of cards you might qualify for.

There’s also a cool advice section to help you really maximize your credit potential. Since I’m debt free, mine focused on using credit cards with cash back and travel rewards. If you have some debt, yours might focus on switching to cards with a low balance transfer fee and a lengthy 0% interest phase.

Once you know your credit score, if it’s a little low, Credit Sesame includes tips and tools on how to manage your credit better. Maybe you’ve always paid on time and expect your credit score to be really high, only to find it’s pretty low. If you only have one credit card, with a very low limit, you may need to apply for another card to increase the amount of credit available you – this will lower your credit utilization.

If you do regularly miss payments, Credit Sesame can help you find cards with lower interest rates – and other posts on my site can help you build up your savings so you don’t miss so many payments or work on your hustle to bring in extra cash!

Credit Sesame makes it so easy to find out your credit score through their website or app.

What are you waiting for?

This post was sponsored by Credit Sesame – one of several great sites online that let you access your credit score for free!