October 13, 2025 ~ Lucy Ann Lance is joined by Mark Munzenberger, Financial Education Manager and Nicole Bernacik, Financial Education Specialist with the University of Michigan Credit Union for Money Monday! Hard inquiries occur when applying for new credit like loans or credit cards, causing a small, temporary dip in one’s credit score. Soft inquiries, on the other hand, happen when someone checks your credit for marketing, employment, or when you check it yourself, and these do not affect your score. Consumers should regularly check their credit reports for accuracy and fraud using soft inquiries, and understand that multiple hard inquiries for the same loan type within a short period typically count as a single inquiry.