I've seen folks raise their scores by 50+ points in just a few months, without doing anything fancy. They just learned which factors affected their score most, and focused on improving those areas.

A little over a decade ago, I found myself in especially dire financial straits. I got laid off from my job, split from my spouse, and defaulted on the mortgage for the house I shouldn't have bought.

LaToya Irby is a credit expert who has been covering credit and debt management for nearly 20 years. She's been quoted widely in national publications, and her work has been cited in several books.

Renters make up more than a third of the U.S. population. But when it comes to building wealth and credit, they're often locked out. Not only are renters unable to accrue home equity, but because ...