Perfect credit, or even really good credit, opens doors for American consumers. Better interest rates on loans. Better odds of renting an apartment or landing a job. Lower insurance premiums. But how ...

I've seen folks raise their scores by 50+ points in just a few months, without doing anything fancy. They just learned which factors affected their score most, and focused on improving those areas.

Discover how credit scores and credit reports differ, why each is important, and how they impact your financial life.

Rajeev Dhir is a writer with 10+ years of experience as a journalist with a background in broadcast, print, and digital newsrooms. Betsy began her career in international finance and it has since ...