Gary North

Your FICO score tells you how credit-worthy banks and other lending agencies think you are.

You can pay to get your FICO score from the three agencies that provide this to lenders. Or you can also get a pretty good idea by taking a test on a free on-line FICO score estimator.

I went through the ten questions. The score was within the range of my FICO score. It gives a 50-point range. This is good enough for making rule-of-thumb estimates.

Here is the site:

When you get your score, go here to get an idea of how high you are rated with this number.

Here are some advantages of a high rating. A major one is the availability of a mortgage. The mortgage industry has tightened up this year. A high score will also save you money on the interest you pay on your mortgage.