Question: How important is it for consumers to find out their credit score?

Answer: Your credit score is one of the most important numbers to manage. Banks and other financial institutions may use your score to determine whether you are creditworthy for a loan and the terms (how much interest to charge, the length, amount, etc.).

Many employers may use your score, if you give them permission, to determine whether to hire you. Landlords may use your score as a gauge of your fiscal responsibility and whether to take you on as a tenant. Insurance companies may use your score to determine if you can get insurance and the rates you will pay.

Utility, cable and telephone companies may use your score to determine whether they should provide services to you. With so much at stake with your credit score, it is important to maintain a good score.

Q: Who collects the credit information about me, and where do they get it from?

A: The three main credit bureaus, Equifax (800-685-1111), TransUnion (877-322-8228) and Experian (888-397-3742), gather the information about you in a credit report and provide it to institutions and people that request it.

They get the information from all your creditors such as banks, credit cards and financial institutions that you use. They also get it from public records such as court and property documents. Each credit bureau is different in how they collect and calculate your credit score, which is why some scores may be different from each other.

Q: What makes up my credit score? How can I raise my score?

A: Your credit report is all of the information collected on your credit history, and your credit score is a numerical value given to you by the credit bureau. The FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) score is the most popular and ranges from 300 to 850. A score of 400 is considered to be very low, and generally anything over 700 is considered to be good score. The score is based upon the following:

>> 35 percent: record of paying bills on time (Do you have any late payments?)

>> 30 percent: debt-to-income and credit limit ratio (How much credit are you using on your limits? How much debt do you have compared with your income?)

>> 15 percent: credit history (How long have you had credit and been paying your accounts?)

>> 10 percent: credit mix (revolving credit — credit cards, fixed credit — mortgages, car loans)

>> 10 percent: recent credit inquiries and new credit (Who is checking your score? What new credit do you have?)

Q: How do you check your credit report and credit score? Can you get it for free?

A: By law, each of the three credit bureaus is required to give one free credit report per year; however, most sites require you to pay for the credit score. One helpful tip is to get one from each bureau every four months to check frequently. One out of 4 Americans was a victim of identity theft with total personal losses close to $50 billion yearly, not including the time to clean up the mess.

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>> For free credit report as authorized by federal law, see www.annualcreditreport.com.