Recent news regarding credit scores and credit reports:

Chuck Jaffe at MarketWatch.com, reports: "Hang ups over financial literacy: Surveys seem only to find Americans' poor money habits" -- his article notes a survey which showed that only 30% of consumers check their credit score or compare financing options from dealers, banks and credit unions before they go car-buying; yet twice that number -- 60% of respondents -- said they conduct vehicle comparisons before leaving for the showroom.

In short, they spend their time shopping. They don't have a clue what their credit is.

He writes: "Savvy consumers know, at the very least, to review their credit report to look for any abnormalities or problems that might hurt their credit score."

That's what we've been saying for years.

It's a shame that 7 out of 10 people don't bother to eliminate easy-to-correct errors from their credit report, yet 6 of 10 shop, compare, dicker, read reports, compare some more, talk to friends.... and then over pay on their financing expenses, because their lower credit score inversely affects them by only making higher interest loan options available.

And the extra costs can be significant, says Jaffe, noting that it's not uncommon for consumers to spend over $800 more on financing a $25,000 auto when their credit is less than ideal.

Your credit score determines — pretty much to the dollar — how much you'll have to pay to finance a new car.

Bottom line: The higher your FICO credit score, the lower your interest rate. Those who have a FICO credit score over 690 will pay roughly 7.4% when purchasing an auto through a dealer, according to MyFico.com. It adds that people who have a FICO score of 590 or less will pay a harshly higher rate twice that.

So it pays to get your free annual credit report (this link is on this site -- search it out!), review it carefully, locate any errors and start taking steps to fix your credit report and improve your FICO credit score once and for all.... and then REALLY get a great deal on your next car purchase!

Find out how you can take simple, quick and easy steps to improve your own credit with these free tips by yourself starting today.