A low FICO score can certainly put a major crimp in your financial life. As one young man I corresponded with put it, it's like an invisible force-field between you and many of the better things in life, like a good mortgage, a decent car loan, being able to take home that big-screen TV with ninety days same as cash, and so on.

Nobody likes rejection, and it's easy to take FICO-related turn-downs very personally, and that right quickly. I've spoken with many a disgruntled customer-care rep at credit card companies and car dealerships who take a lot of heat from rejected consumers. "I'm a good person, dammit, give me a chance!" is often the line used...along with other language I won't repeat here.

But recall from the previous page that credit scoring is computerized, and based entirely on the contents of your credit report. If you have a low-FICO problem, your credit report is the root cause, because that's what FICO scoring is entirely based on. Your first step should be to pull your credit report and see what's lowering your score.