Start by doing a credit checkup — you can monitor your credit yourself by requesting a free report once a year from each of the credit bureaus through www.annualcreditreport.com but the free report won’t include your credit score, you’ll pay about $8 to get the credit bureau’s proprietary number.

If you have debt, chances are you’ll have to deal with a debt collector at some point, at least until you pay off the debt. Even if you’ve hired a debt settlement company to help you negotiate down your debt, debt collectors may still contact you for payment. Here are some tips for dealing with debt collectors, even when they get rude.

When a couple is married, they often hold joint accounts, such as savings, credit cards and mortgages. This links their credit scores together. If you’ve just gone through a divorce, your credit may be in shambles. Sometimes, one partner will run up a huge credit card bill, deplete the equity in the home or otherwise try to wreak havoc with the credit score of the other party. It’s important to address this problem head on.

Divorce is all about division – the separation of two people from each other, dividing up property, dividing kids’ time between parents but does divorce have to mean a separation from a good credit score?

Have you ever seen your credit score crash? Sometimes at the last minute? We’ve all been surprised by credit reports that weren’t as great as we wanted them to be. This is how to make sure your credit report is headed in the right direction, especially if your going to get a home loan mortgage in the next 30 days.