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.

It’s important to note that repairing bad credit takes time and there is no quick way to fix a credit score. In fact, out of all of the ways to improve a credit score, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire, so beware of any advice that claims to improve your credit score fast.

Credit Scoring is a mathematical formula that generates your bill payment history and general financial habits into a tidy package used by lenders to help decide how worthy you are of a loan and how much it will cost.

Dental procedures can be expensive and even if you have insurance, many procedures or fees may not be covered. If your credit is not good, secure a loan for the balance of the dental procedure may be difficult. Do not be discouraged if you do not have a good credit, because there are options available to help finance your dental work.

How to Boost Your FICO Score wanted to share the four mistakes that can ‘hurt’ a credit score — be careful not to max out those credit cards. Potential lenders also care about how much a person is charging on their card, because the more they spend the less likely they will be able to repay the debt — this is where credit card utilization comes in.