Credit scores are three digit numbers derived from your credit report that help determine whether you get a job or apartment and how much you pay for insurance or a loan. As important as scores are to us in our everyday lives, a 2008 study by the Consumer Federation of America found that 60 percent of consumers don't understand much about credit scores. And it's no wonder. The formulas for credit scoring are largely secret and different scoring companies use different formulas. Also, consumers who buy their credit scores get what's called a consumer score -- it's not the same score that a financial institution would get from the very same scoring company. Plain Dealer consumer columnist Sheryl Harris and guests make sense of credit scores, Friday morning at nine on the Sound of Ideas.
Evan Hendricks, Editor, Privacy Times & author, Credit Scores & Credit Reports
Jeff Blyskal, Senior Editor, Consumer Reports Money Adviser
Making Sense of Your Credit Score
