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• To know where you stand, review your credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to find out whether any negative actions have been reported and to look for errors or possible fraudulent activity on your accounts. You can order one free report per year from each bureau if you order them through www.AnnualCreditReport.com; otherwise you'll pay a small fee.
• To learn more about credit reports and scores, visit the CFPB's "Ask CFPB." Another good resource is What's My Score (www.whatsmyscore.org), a financial literacy program for young adults run by Visa, which features a free, downloadable workbook called, "Money 101: A Crash Course in Better Money Management," and other free tools.
• You worked hard to graduate. Just make sure you don't sabotage your efforts by starting out on the wrong financial footing.
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• Jason Alderman directs Visa's financial education programs. To Follow Jason Alderman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney