How to make sure your credit history, financial data, account information and other essentials are strong and safe! In 2001, the average North American consumer spent nearly $40,000 on credit cards. By 2005, this average person will carry over $50,000 in consumer debt – not counting mortgages or car loans! T

his unsecured consumer debt is fundamentally changing the way Americans live:

* the tradition of a home owned free and clear has become unusual as people borrow against their homes and refinance repeatedly to pay for discretionary spending

* financing vacations, electronics and dining out with multiple credit cards is commonplace At the same time, credit scores have become the golden keys to successful borrowing. But what does it all mean? How do you know you’re managing your credit wisely? In a credit-based economy, your credit score means as much to you as money in the bank meant to your grandparents –and here’s how to protect it!

Linda has dug into more than 14,000 credit reports. She has seen it all and she has fixed it all. “When I went in search of a user-friendly, straight-talk book about credit scoring, one written by a credit expert with actual hands-on experience who really understands the inner workings of the credit system, I was stunned to come up completely empty handed. I instantly realized that it was my mission to deliver this book: an experts how-to-guide for understanding the credit scoring system, and getting and keeping good credit.”

Linda Ferraris THE BIG SCORE: Getting It and Keeping It, Buying Power for Life blows the lid off of the mysterious abyss known as the credit industry. This tell-all book reveals the secrets to achieve and maintain good credit scores that will unlock the doors to better financial futures for everyone.

This is one book you must have! As a result of the credit crisis, many financial institutions have raised their credit score requirements. Credit scores are impacting everyone from every angle. The Road to 850 provides a much greater background and understanding to the credit scoring system than any previously published book. In fact, The Road to 850 has been given the coveted endorsement of the AFCPE – American Financial Counseling, Planning and Education Association in June 2009.

In its review, they write, The Road to 850 “covers in detail the vast credit industry and navigates with ease the questions that plague even qualified people.” It is “highly recommended for financial and credit counselors as well as all individuals wanting to increase their scoreswhich would be everyone.” The Road to 850 describes all the reason codes and how credit risk is scored. It explains the four critical ratios, the four important dates and the four levels of delinquency with detailed explanations, examples and displays. Lastly, it provides 94 proven strategies and identifies the necessary requirements for a credit score in the golden range — 760 to 850. The Road to 850 has received many additional rave reviews from readers:

What an excellent book! Easy to read. Thanks a lot for giving us the opportunity to get to 850!, My book is filled with great information, some of which I have never heard before despite an abiding interest in the subject and previous research. Id recommend it to anyone who wants to raise his score, even if its already a high one. This book is priceless. The Road to 850 has been highlighted by Kurtis Ming (KOVR / CBS in Sacramento), Nicole Crites (KPHO / CBS in Phoenix), Bill Gephardt (KUTV / CBS in Salt Lake City), Paula Ebbers (WBZ / CBS in Boston) and a host of other national television and radio reporters. Whether you have a 725 or a 525 credit score, this is one book you must have!

Credit Scores & Credit Reports provides the first thorough examination of the all-important, but little understood, credit scoring and credit reporting systems. The Third Edition of this highly-acclaimed book enables consumers to understand how both of these systems actually work, and what they can do to improve their FICO scores, and to ensure their credit reports are accurate.

Importantly, the book also describes how the system sometimes doesn t work, and how hundreds of thousands if not millions of consumers have been frustrated in their efforts to correct errors in their credit reports. Moreover, it explains: * Link between credit reports and the burgeoning problem of identity theft *How credit card companies use credit scoring to raise your interest rates * The role of credit scores in auto and homeowners insurance *The difference between mortgage rates for consumers with excellent, good, fair, and poor credit scores *The damages to consumers, and their creditworthiness, stemming from credit report inaccuracy and identity theft Credit reports and debt collection * The debate over credit scoring and discrimination The politics of credit reporting

About the Author
Since 1981, Evan Hendricks has been Editor/Publisher and founder of Privacy Times, a newsletter based in the Washington, D.C. area. Through the newsletter alone, he has published nearly 3,000 pages covering a wide range of privacy and information law subjects, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Mr. Hendricks regularly testifies before Congress, with four appearances in 2003. He is a regular presenter at Federal Trade Commission workshops. He has been qualified by the courts as an expert witness in FCRA and identity theft cases. Mr. Hendricks has served as a consultant on privacy issues to federal and state governmental organizations, and businesses. He has been a featured American presenter at events in Paris, France, Venice, Italy, Cardiff Wales, London, England and Ottawa, Ontario. He is regularly quoted in the mainstream media and trade press. Mr. Hendricks has a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College, Columbia University. He attended there after transferring from University of Oregon.