Your credit score has never been more important than it is today.

Having a poor credit score can hit you hard in all kinds of places.

As lenders tighten up their credit standards in this credit crisis, you may find that you need a FICO score about 20 to 40 points higher than last year just
to get the same kind of rates you got then.

Obviously with a low credit score, if you try to buy or refinance a home, you’re likely looking at a higher mortgage rate. Same goes if you need to finance a new or used car. And, that can cost you thousands of dollars! But, did you know that a spotty credit score can also affect things not even related to a loan?

For example, prospective employers may look at your score before deciding to hire you. (Just what you need during the current slowdown in hiring!) Also…some of your day-to-day costs, such as home and auto insurance — andeven your cell phone and utility bills — can dramatically increase based on a less-than-perfect score.

We remember counseling one couple who learned that particular lesson the hard way. The couple's auto insurance company had just raised their premium for two cars by $200 a year — based on a credit record that put them in a “high-risk” bracket.

About The Dolans

For more than 25 years, Ken and Daria Dolan have given the “Straight Talk” on how you and your loved ones can live money-smart, debt-free and cash-rich. Here is a small sampling of where you may have seen them on TV:

• Hosts of “Dolans Unscripted,” a weekly national television show on CNN
• Money contributors on CBS This Morning and CBS News Saturday Morning
• Hosts of their own daily tv show on CNBC for four years
• Guests on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, LIVE with Regis and Kelly, Wall Street Week and many more.

Their nationally nationally-syndicated radio program, The Dolans, aired every Saturday across North America and Hawaii. And now, you can have unprecedented access to this wisdom and the Dolans at Dolans.com.

Explore an entire library of personal financial wisdom, including hundreds of articles and reports...whenever you want, 24/7.

Anytime you have a question about money…anytime you have a concern…anytime you have a problem, the Dolans and their time-tested advice will help you work it all out.

Nobody looks out for your money the way you do. And it's the Dolans’ mission to help you with all of your money matters. 

Find out for yourself. Click here to visit Dolans.com today!

The couple wanted to know what their credit record had to do with their auto premiums. The answer?? It tells insurers and lenders that they are running a risk of getting late payments from you...so they charge you more to hedge themselves.

So, if you don’t pay your bills on time, do yourself a "credit" favor and START.  And, if you already have either major or minor problems in your credit report, now is the time to start cleaning it up. 

This report will show you how you can do just that in a short time frame… AND save money on insurance, mortgages and anything else that requires an excellent credit record.

Let Us Introduce Ourselves…

We’re Ken and Daria Dolan, and we’ve often been called the “First Family of Personal Finance.”

We have over 25 years of experience helping people just like you improve their financial health. 

We’ve hosted both our own national television shows (CNN, CNN.fn and CNBC) and national radio show heard across North America and Hawaii  and we’ve written six books on personal finance as well as guesting on numerous television shows and  we have spoken all over the world.  (And we’ve been married — to each other — for nearly 40  years in case you want to know...but that’s another story.)

We wrote this report to show youthe “ins and outs” of how the credit scoring system works...and how you can dramatically improve your credit in a very short period of time.

What, Exactly, IS a Credit Score?

A credit score is a number — generally ranging from 300 to 850 — based on an analysis of your credit history.  Its purpose is to demonstrate your creditworthiness, which is what lenders look at when deciding how likely you are to pay your debts on time.

Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan, at what interest rate and at what credit limits.

Your credit score is calculated based on the contents of your credit report, which is sourced from the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

The FICO® score is the most well-known of the credit scores, and it’s used by 90% of all lenders in the U.S. and Canada.

THIS is the one to which you should pay the most attention (and work on if you need to)!

Here’s the good news: The higher your FICO score, the less money you’ll pay in interest.