How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line

Chapter 9. Your Credit Report and Score: The Better You Look, the More You Profit

	You need to stay on top of your credit because it really does affect your whole financial life!
	--Liz Weston, MSN Money Personal Finance Columnist and Author of Your Credit Score (FT Press, 2007)

Your credit report and credit score are two of your most powerful financial tools. The better you look on paper, the less cards are going to cost you, and the more money you can make off them. Your rates on other loans and your premiums on insurance policies will likely be lower as well. And the next time your credit is checked when you apply for a job or an apartment, you’ll likely pass with flying colors.

If you have a lousy credit picture, you’ll pay more for everything—not ...