Information can be a very dangerous thing.

Today, East Coast residents can finally acquire a free copy of their credit report from one of the three major credit organizations.

Now if only they'd tell you your FICO score.

Or how long it would take to pay your credit card bill if you payed just the minimum balance* every month.

Or a million other things credit card companies would prefer you not knowing.

(*FYI - Minimum credit card payments are doubling from 2% of the total balance to 4%. This won't help you pay it off substantially faster, but it helps a smidge. The more important thing is that your credit card bill, if you just pay the minimum, is about to double. How this hasn't made a peep in the news outlets is mindblowing.)