You sit down to look at your credit report for the first time. If you�re scores are above 720, congratulations! You have excellent credit; stop worrying. If you�re scores are not above 700, no problem�let�s get to work. Take solace in the fact that the national average score is around 676 according to the Gallup Organization. If you�re scores are below 400, 500, or 600, there�s definitely room for improvement and only one way to go�up!

If the numbers I�ve mentioned don�t make any sense to you or you have no idea what they mean, don�t fret�I�ll explain. Credit scores range from 350 to 850. All three of the credit bureaus�Equifax, Experian, and Transunion�offer FICO credit scores using a complex mathematical formula developed by Fair (more…)

Your credit score is an integral part of your financial life. It is important that you understand what it’s all about. Lenders, landlords, insurers, utility companies and even employers look at your credit score. It is derived from what’s in your credit reports, and it ranges between 300 and 850.

Yet, according to a survey that was recently conducted, nearly half of all Americans don’t know how these scores are derived or even what factors are used to come up with them.

For example, if your credit score is 580 you are probably going to pay nearly three percentage points more in mortgage interest than someone who had a score of 720.

Or another way of looking at it, if you had a $150 (more…)