The federal government gives us the right to a free credit report once a year. However, there’s no government mandate for annual free FICO Scores — the credit score lenders most often use to approve credit applications. You may be able to receive a free FICO Score by signing up for another subscription service, but that isn’t always a good option.

Having a low credit score can hurt you in a number of different ways. Here are some of the disadvantages of having a low credit score.

Bankruptcy is by no means game over for your financial life — there are steps you can take to begin rebuilding your credit and eventually, your overall financial health.

There are many misconceptions about credit scores out there. Every time you apply for credit, apply for a job that requires you to handle money, or even apply for some apartment living, your credit score it checked.

Citi Free Credit Score will become the largest credit card issuer to provide free credit scores to their credit card customers. The bank will begin providing these scores on a monthly basis beginning in January 2015 and the scores will only be available online. Citi will provide the FICO credit score which is based on credit report information from Equifax.