It's no secret that credit scores are increasingly important. The recession has sent many a consumer's score down the drain, as people have lost homes, settled debts, declared bankruptcy, short-sold homes and even simply fallen behind on their mortgage payments in an effort to get their lender to restructure their home loan.
While consumer credit card debt is down, so are credit scores, on average, according to a recent study.
At the same time, the end of the subprime era has meant tighter credit requirements not just for home loans, but for all sorts of loans and credit. That's right: Credit is more important than ever, and
scores are down.
Until now, most financially savvy folk have been hunkering down, getting bills paid off and attempting to stabilize their position vis-à-vis their homes, with much less concern about their credit score than about the long-term financial soundness of the decisions they are making. As we get things paid, though, many of us will shift our view to credit repair or optimization.
To that end, MSN Money's Liz Pulliam Weston has just released an updated edition of her bestselling manual, 'Your Credit Score, Your Money & What's at Stake.' Given that credit score algorithms and the rules and regulations that form the landscape underlying a consumer's ability to impact their score change fairly frequently, this is one of the many recent updated editions of personal finance books that is not only timely and welcome, it's truly necessary. Real Estate News
