Clean Up Your Finances (Collection)

Introduction

When I first started writing about credit scores more than a decade ago, few people knew what these three-digit numbers were or how they worked.

Today most people have at least a vague understanding that credit scores are important. But they often don’t realize how important—until they get turned down for a loan or an apartment, or wind up paying more interest or higher insurance premiums than they expected.

The credit crunch, financial crisis, and recession just made matters worse. It split the world into two, with one set of rules for the credit “haves” and another for the “have-nots.”

People with good credit scores have enjoyed some of the cheapest loans in a generation. Lenders still fight for their business and reward them with ...