Smart Money

On the road to taking care of one New Year’s resolution - getting my financial situation in order - I am happy to report I have improved my FICO credit score in one week by finally accepting that my savings account is actually costing me money (as the interest doesn’t offset my credit card APRs), and consequently committed to putting more into my credit card payments instead of savings until at least three cards are paid off.

If you want to learn how you can improve your credit score, here are some suggestions from MyFICO (to learn about what FICO is and how it works, visit http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/)

To get on the path to wealth, you must first gauge your current financial health.

Step 1: Download your free credit report at annualcreditreport.com. If you find any errors, notify the bureau and the creditor of the mistake. Make sure to keep records of your communications and all supporting documents.

For your credit score, request your FICO from Equifax - it’s worth the $7.95 cost. The FICO score range is 300 to 850 : 700 and above is good.

Popularity: 62% [?]

Blend three ingredients - income, discipline and time - and you, too, can be a millionaire. This is the single most important thing you will ever hear about investing: to get rich, you must exercise discipline and patience. It may not be easy, but it’s definitely that simple. And you have no excuse not to do it.Here’s how it works: Say you start with nothing, invest $500 (of your income) a month (a healthy discipline), and let your money ride (over time) in diversified investments. Long term, the stock market returns at least 10% annually. Assuming a 10% return, you’d have $102,000 after 10 years, $380,000 after 20 years, and $1.1 million in 30 years.