You know that having bad credit can increase your auto loan’s interest rate, but did you realize credit problems can in some cases nearly quadruple your car insurance premiums, too?

Good news for veterans of the U.S. military and anyone interested in an FHA loan — it just got easier to qualify for an FHA loan or VA loan if you have less than perfect credit. With Quicken Loans, you can now qualify for an FHA loan with a credit score as low as 580.  That’s one of the lowest qualifying scores you’ll find in today’s mortgage market and veterans and active members of the military can qualify for a VA loan with the low credit score of 620 as well.

Home ownership is a part of achieving the American dream. For many, the only thing standing between them and owning a home is a low credit score. Lenders rely heavily on FICO Scores when determining whether to fund a mortgage — low credit scores equate to high risk. Still, it isn’t impossible to get a mortgage with a low credit score.

In the past several years, medical debt has become more burdensome for many families. So much so that medical bills have become a major cause of personal bankruptcy. It’s not that people have no health insurance. Many individuals who cite medical debt as the cause of their bankruptcy were actually covered under a health insurance plan at the time the medical expenses were incurred. The problem is that certain medical expenses are often uncovered. Debt settlement may be an alternative to bankruptcy for dealing with your medical expenses.

A new version of FICO’s credit score formula will raise the scores of people with medical debts, or who paid off other debts in collection but people with unpaid debts on their record that aren’t related to health care would see their scores fall, making it harder for them to get a personal loan or credit card, or raising the interest rates they’ll have to pay, FICO said.