Your credit score affects so many aspects of your financial life...yet, if you're like many Americans, you don't even know what it is! Perhaps you pulled your credit score and got a cryptic number like 523 or 766 and have no idea how "good" or "bad" it is. Do you feel like you're going up in front of the Spanish Inquisition every time you apply for a credit card? Do you fear a mortgage at anything resembling a reasonable rate is beyond your reach? Do credit fees bleed you like a bucket of leeches?

This site is an omnibus of information covering everything from what a credit score is, and how it is generated, to how you can improve your credit score and stop paying too much for a mortgage, car loan, and insurance. Thousands have already used these proven techniques to manage their credit scores, without paying credit repair agencies. I refuse to run any advertising on this site for credit repair agencies! And, while I do appreciate those who click on our advertisers' links and patronize them to help support the allaboutthebenjamins.org site, I charge no fees whatsoever because the techniques I lay out on this site are free!

Ready to learn how credit scoring works, and to get informed and get ahead? Read on.

NOTE: for the old allaboutthebenjamins.org site, click here.

Learn what factors into credit scoring. The answers to this one may surprise you. To learn more, click on both of the pictures to the left.

Only what you take with you.

Actually, Yoda was (mostly) correct. Your credit report is a breakdown of many aspects of your financial history. Knowing what is there--and what isn't--is the first step to understanding how credit scoring operates. Fortunately, we have an exhaustive list of credit report entries, as well as hidden elements used in FICO scoring. Click to view this allaboutthebenjamins.org exclusive.

"Would you like a credit score with that #6 combo meal, sir?"

These days, getting your credit score can be hard to avoid. Many banks provide scores for free, and maybe it is only a matter of time before McDonalds bundles them with Big Macs. But there's a catch. Most of these scores that get handed out are not true FICO scores. Yes, there is a difference between FICO and the other scores...and not knowing can cost you.

"But I'm a good person, dammit! Why won't they just give me a chance?"

It's no joke. A low FICO score can make you think the financial world is out to get you, especially if you find yourself repeatedly being denied credit for cryptic-sounding reasons. But it isn't personal. It's business. Make it your business to get out of the low-FICO boat and move on with your life.

Considering Fair Isaac is a multibillion-dollar company, you'll have to do better than that to impress them. Learn the relationship--or is it lack thereof?--between income and credit scores.

The very first step you should take is to see your credit report and score. The banner right below is a good way to do that...you can get a report and score from Fair Isaac in minutes. Then click the picture with the shoes and starfish for some additional steps to take with the information you received.

There's no pat answer for this, but the first step you should take is to make sure those bad marks are actually yours. Sometimes they're not, and if an error was made, you have the right to have it corrected.

If your credit report is cratered with lates and charge-offs, improvement may seem impossible. Not so. Click to see the allaboutthebenjamins.org WINNING, PROVEN STRATEGY to manage your credit score.

Bankruptcy is the worst thing you can do to your FICO score, true enough. However, even bankruptcy can be recovered from. Making the long climb back does take perserverance...and a little cash.

The logic of FICO scoring is sometimes counterintuitive. This is actually a far more complex question than it appears. Likewise, the answer is long, and depends on your circumstances and the time scale you're looking at.

As you probably can imagine, there is no single answer to this question. However, I can tell you from personal experience that your score will improve quite a bit faster if you work at it rather than just hoping your bad credit goes away on its own.

"Is there anything you bloodsuckers DON'T charge me for?"

If you're feeling the sting of a low FICO score, this is a question you've probably felt like shouting at your credit card company. However, getting a high-fee card for a time may be in your best long-term interest. Here's why.

You're not alone. Don't despair: these days, lenders are more willing to work with clients who are going through financial turbulence. Learn how to keep a financial hiccup from affecting your credit.