An insider’s look at what every consumer needs to know about their credit score—and most importantly, how to fix it.

A healthy credit score is essential for a healthy financial life. But the precise mechanisms used to determine our credit scores are shrouded in mystery. Consumers aren’t usually told how their score is being used by all kinds of companies and banks to dictate financial terms that will strongly affect their daily lives. So when consumers interact with the world of credit, they do so from a position of weakness. With this revelatory guide, Anthony Davenport aims to change that.

Finally, here is a consumer-friendly road map for understanding and navigating the secretive world of consumer credit. Davenport reveals where your credit score comes from, how to improve, maintain, or rescue it, and how to avoid hidden credit pitfalls. Your Score is an accessible manual designed to help you take control of your credit score and better navigate all the important financial decisions in your life.

“Does a phenomenal job of pulling back the curtain and giving you a firsthand peek inside the hidden, often frustrating, world of credit scoring.”—Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, New York Times best-selling author of Zero Debt