5 Podcasts That Will Help You Build Great Credit

Looking to build great credit? Trying to figure out how to get the highest credit score? Listen to these interviews with five nationally recognized credit experts. Together, we’ll demystify those often-confusing, sometimes frustrating three-digit numbers and help you master your credit. (In addition to the links below, many of these interviews are available on iTunes for free.)

Credit Score Fact vs. Fiction

Here Tom Quinn busts credit myths and separates fact from fiction. Among other topics, we discuss whether losing your job hurts your credit score, and whether a larger income helps your credit score. We also cover: Does an inquiry really drop your credit score five points each time? How long do inquiries affect your credit scores? Is a short sale better for your credit than a foreclosure? And much more.

Tom Quinn has more than 20 years of experience with some of the biggest players in the world of credit, including FICO (Fair Isaac), Experian (formerly CCN/MDS), and Citibank. He has also been a contributor to the Credit.com blog. Tom currently serves as vice president at myFICO.

Download Credit Score Fact Vs Fiction here or listen to the interview online.

How to Get the Highest Credit Score

What does it take to earn a really high credit score? Anthony Sprauve from MyFico.com shares what factors consumers with the highest credit scores have in common. How many accounts do they have? How long have they been open? And can you earn a high score if you have debt or late payments on your credit reports? We discuss all of these topics and more.

Anthony Sprauve is director of public relations for MyFico.com. Introduced in 1989, the FICO Score helps lenders make billions of decisions each year. FICO credit scores are used by all of the top 50 U.S. financial institutions and the 25 largest U.S. credit card issuers and auto lenders.

You can download the interview Highest Credit Score here or stream it online here.

Raise Your Credit Score in 90 Days

Is it really possible to raise your credit score in 90 days? The answer is often, “yes,” according to Jeanne Kelly, my guest for this interview. If your credit scores have dipped — or dropped — these past years, she’ll walk you through sensible steps for getting it back on track. If you’re looking for crazy loopholes, you won’t find them here. Instead you’ll find long-term solutions for building the best credit possible.

Jeanne Kelly is the the author of The 90 Day Credit Challenge, a credit coach, and founder of The Kelly Group. She has been a guest on the Today Show and her work has appeared on numerous websites. You’ll find more of her advice on the Credit.com blog.

You can download the interview, Raise Your Credit Score in 90 Days here or listen to it online here.

How Credit Scores Work

If you really want to understand the credit scoring world, start with this interview where I talk with Barry Paperno about how credit scores work. You’ll find out how credit scores are created, and then you’ll learn how companies like FICO figure out what goes into them. You’ll also get the answer to the frequently asked question, “Have they changed due to the economic turmoil so many people have been through?”

Barry Paperno has more than 25 years of experience in the credit scoring industry, working with companies like FICO, Experian, Bank of America and others. Most recently, he wrote numerous articles about credit scores and answered questions on the Credit.com blog.

You can download the interview How Credit Scores Work here or play it online here.

Why You Shouldn’t Obsess About Credit Scores

Sure your credit scores are important, but if you’re obsessed with that three-digit number you may be focusing your efforts on the wrong thing. Barrett Burns explains what you really should be concerned with. He will also share why your credit score changes so often, and how fast you can rebuild your credit.

You’ll also learn about the VantageScore, how it works, who uses it, and how it may help more consumers get access to credit. (Keep in mind that this interview took place before VantageScore 3 was introduced. Under that new model, the score range is 300-850.)

You can listen to the interview about Vantage Score credit scores here or stream it online here.

Barrett Burns is the CEO and president of VantageScore Solutions LLC. The VantageScore model and VantageScore credit scores are marketed and sold independently by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion through licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions.

Remember you can always get your credit score at no cost using Credit.com’s Credit Report Card. It’s truly free and you can update it once a month. And as you learned listening to these interviews, checking your own credit doesn’t affect your credit scores.

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