How to boost your credit score

We all have so many numbers in our lives: Social Security number, driver’s license number, phone numbers, lock combination at the gym, credit score and more. While they’re all important, it’s the credit score that allows (or limits) many of the financial steps we take.

“CreditBooster: Ultimate Guide to a Better Credit Score” (InCharge Education Foundation, $19.95) is a book you’ll want to read with a pencil in hand.

“CreditBooster,” in a very hands-on workbook format, will take you through every step of understanding and then improving your overall credit picture.

Whether you have a long credit history, are sinking in debt or are just starting out (or are newly married), you’ll find help here:

“How your everyday actions, such as making one late payment, can impact your credit scores.

“How to read your credit reports, find any errors and communicate with the credit agencies to have those errors corrected. Have you ever found an error in your credit report and just left it there, taking the easy way out? Your credit could suffer if the information is incorrect. Still, dealing with the credit reporting agencies isn’t always easy, but the book walks you through the easiest path to getting corrections made, and includes sample letters.

“How the credit scores are calculated and what counts most in determining your credit score.

“How to build your credit back after a divorce or bankruptcy.

“Determining your debt inventory and assets.

“How long it will take to get out of debt — If you have a number of credit cards and are only making the minimum payments, you’ll find step-by-step help for setting up a budget that will help you pare away those balances.

The importance of your credit score becomes apparent in an illustration from the book showing how your credit score impacts what your monthly mortgage could be.

Someone with a credit score of 760 and a mortgage interest APR of 5.8 percent will have a monthly payment of $1,275 on a $216,000 loan. Drop that credit score down to 620 and you’ll likely be hit with a 7.44 percent APR and a payment of $1,502.

That is, if you’re given a loan. The lower your score, the more likely you’ll be turned down.