Your credit score is a number, usually between 300 and 850, calculated based on your credit report. Your credit score is used by creditors to determine your credit worthiness, the amount of credit they would qualify you for, and the interest rate. The higher your credit score, the better is your credit rating. One common score that most lenders use is the FICO score. For a fee, you can get your FICO score at www.myfico.com.

• Who Uses Credit Scores: Credit scores are used by money lenders, banks, credit card companies, mortgage companies, creditors, landlords, insurance companies, utility companies, and many employers to evaluate your credit worthiness.
  
• How Often Can My Credit Score Change? Credit score is computed based on the data supplied by information providers such as creditors, merchants, banks, credit card companies, landlords, etc. As a result, your credit scores can change from day to day.
  
• Why Should I check My Credit Score? It is not only good to know what is on your credit report, doing so is probably one of the most effective way to find out if you are being targeted for (or already a victim of) identity theft. Moreover, even if you are not planning on making a big purchase real soon, it is still in your best interest to know what is on your credit report. Others are going to look at your credit score to get a feel for your financial health -shouldn't you?
  
• What Determines My Credit Score: There are many factors that determine your credit score -including but not limited to:
  
  • Your payment history,
    
  • Amount of your debt,
    
  • Your credit account history,
    
  • Your current line of credit,
    
  • Your credit/debt ratio,
    
  • Data supplied by Information Providers (credit card companies, banks, landlord, merchant stores, finance companies, mortgage companies, etc.),
    
  • Information available in your public records (bankruptcy, judgments, liens, wage garnishments, etc.), and more...

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) entitles you to at least one free credit report every 12 months (you can always order more than one credit report if needed), but you have to pay to get your credit score.

One common score that most lenders use is the FICO score. For a fee, you can get it from My Fico.

What Can I Do Improve My Credit Score?
Depending upon your current credit score, and your target credit score, there are many different things you can do to help improve your credit score. In almost all cases, the following four suggestions are found to yield great results:

• Periodically review your credit report: and correct any errors,
  
• Pay your bills in a timely manner,
  
• Do not apply for credit unless you really need it, and
  
• Pay down your debt.

It is important that you know your credit score, and keep a close eye on your credit report. Doing so can not only help improve your credit rating, it can also help you quickly intervene in the event of your identity being compromised, or if there are any errors or inaccuracies in your credit reports.