The three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report at each of the agencies once a week for free.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit that alleges the website “Credit Karma” deceived people by falsely claiming that they had been “pre-approved” or had “90% odds” of approval for credit cards or loans.

The Federal Trade Commission wants to send a reminder about some rights related to credit and discrimination.

Janay White doesn’t care how pretty your website or business logo is. “I tell business owners all the time ... you need money to stay in business and to be competitive, and to continue to run your business."

Freeze credit card spending. Closing an account could impact your credit utilization rate , a number that reporting bureaus use to evaluate your current spending habits and your future creditworthiness. If you have all three cards, then your credit utilization rate is 33% ($2,500/$7,500). Closing a credit card will also negatively impact your average age of accounts, which shows lenders or credit issuers that you can responsibly manage credit over time. Your debt-to-income ratio and credit utilization ratios should have improved, which may help you qualify for a consolidation loan.