So, for the first time in two years, I decided to check my and my husband’s credit reports. It’s a good idea to check your report to make sure that everything is accurate and no one has stolen your identity.

We got our free credit reports from the three consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion through www.annualcreditreport.com. Be sure to go to this website and not the one that’s advertised on television all the time (they claim to be free, but then hook you into all kinds of other things you don’t need to buy). It was totally free and only took about 20 minutes for each of us from start to finish. Be sure you’re connected to a printer so you can print your reports.

Our credit reports were totally accurate, so that was a relief, especially since I had my wallet stolen a few years back. But the accuracy of our reports wasn’t the only thing that made me happy.

I did a little math of all of our paid off debts. In the past seven years of our marriage, my husband and I have paid off close to $68,000 in debt!!!!! It felt so good to look at that number and to realize that all our scrimping and saving mattered! It was very encouraging. The road to being debt-free is a very long one, and being able to really see how far we’ve come gave me a second wind.

You should check your credit report to make sure it’s accurate. And if you’ve been working hard at debt reduction, tally up those numbers and see how much progress you’ve made. It will inspire you to keep going.