This is an interesting topic for me to write. I am almost obsessed with my credit score.  I check my latest score every now and then, if not every week. In 2016, the average credit score was 699. This is in the “good” range. But what is considered a bad credit score?

While there are different credit tiers we all know about, do they mean you don’t qualify for loans, credit cards, a house, a car, and other necessities? It’s important you know what your credit score means to your financial health.

There are many reasons that people fall into debt. It could be a job loss, a sudden illness or the mishandling of money. Unfortunately, once you get overwhelmed with your debt it can become difficult to make your monthly payments on time.

What usually follows are a few late payments and then a few missed payments. This can present quite a challenge to restore your good name. The potential cost of having bad credit can be huge unless you follow these steps to recover from bad credit.

Trying to gain better control over your finances can be a great goal to have. While all the different factors that affect how you save, borrow, and make money can seem complex when you’re starting out, you can easily become well educated about your finances by breaking up the knowledge you need into smaller chunks.

Understanding your credit score can be a great place to start. Having better credit can come with a huge set of advantages that can potentially help improve all of your finances. Here are the basics of what your credit score means and how you can improve it if needed.

This is a guest post from one of the readers, who wants to be anonymous.

Having a good credit score wasn’t always on the top of my priority list when I was in my early 20s. I never had an immaculate score, but it also wasn’t too shabby. I could have access to almost any type of financing: credit cards, car loans, and even a mortgage. I always paid my bills on time but I typically carried over some of the balance to the next month.