This self-help guide, prepared by Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, focuses on credit scores.

The authors explain that a credit score is a formula that lenders use to predict risk when issuing loans, setting a credit limit on an existing account or deciding what interest rate to charge on an account.

They also explain how negative information will affect a credit score, and for how long; how to obtain your credit score; and how much a poor credit score will cost in terms of increased interest rates.