Credit reports

How often do you check yours? Which service do you use? Any tips for keeping a good credit rating (like don't cancel a credit card, etc.). Any others?

 

The usual tips I see are pay on time (avoid any late payments) and have a variety of credit types (credit cards, loans (car/student/mortgage), etc.).

You should check your report once a year. But ordering all three reports at once, once a year, although convenient, can create a lagtime in finding and correcting a potential problem.
The key would be to stagger your reports through the year, since you're entitled to one free one from each of the big 3 credit bureaus.
For instance, order the TransUnion one in February, Experian in July, and Equifax in November. If there's something amiss on one, it will likely be on all three. By ordering one every four months, you can keep on top of it all better.

 

Dumb question likely to be answered by a five-minute Google search, but too worried about finding the wrong site that will end up leaving me penniless: How would I go about getting reports from these companies?

 

freecreditreport.com is a good way to go. I joined their triple advantage thing to monitor it all the timie so when Mrs. Guy and I bought a house, there weren't any mishaps.

 

http://www.transunion.com/
http://www.equifax.com/
http://www.experian.com/

All three will probably refer you here:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp (the FAQ here will answer many of your questions)