Douglas Zimmer

You have your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports in front of you and are trying to make sense of all the different information listed in them. You notice a 3-digit number ...the mathematical summary of all your financial information...your credit score. If you are like the majority of Americans, you look at your number and ask yourself, "What is a good credit score?" or "Where does my score need to be to put me into the good credit score range?"

It's a new year and many people have made a resolution to fix their credit score by paying off some of their credit cards and then closing the accounts. This is an example of an idea that sounds good in theory but really isn't. There are good reasons for wanting to close a card but, in reality, closing it can have the opposite effect of what you wanted.

It seems that wherever you go today, people are talking about the importance of having good credit and the different ways to raise a low credit score. People are interested in learning about their credit rating for a variety of reasons. If you are looking to buy a new home or car, apply for a credit card, or even apply for a job, you want your credit score to be as high as possible. You need to understand how your credit score is calculated, and what you can do to improve it.