A good FICO score is one that exceeds 700. Any amount above that number is generally sufficient to qualify for the lowest available rates on most types of loans, but it is not a one way ticket to being able to take out extraordinarily large loans-your income will have a more significant effect on that.

Credit reporting bureaus continually update credit reports as they receive information from lenders. Your credit score may change with these updates as lenders add new information to your credit report but also as old information drops off your report. How updates affect your credit score can depend on your overall credit history.

If you have bad (a 500 credit score to 580 credit score) to poor (a 581 credit score to 639 credit score) credit but want to increase your FICO Score by 150 points then read on to find out how to boost your credit score in the next 6 months.

When you close the credit-card account that you’ve had the longest, it will lower the average age of your credit accounts and drag down your FICO Score.

Debt settlements are where the debt collection agency or creditor agrees to take a lesser amount than what is actually owed in order to eliminate the debt. It is very useful for paying off old debts for less money than what is owed and can save hundreds of dollars when it comes to paying off the debt.