No, there isn't a quick fix to your credit problems, but by understanding how your credit score is determined can help you take steps in improving it. You won't be able to turn a 500 credit score into a 700 overnight, but once you begin to practice smart credit habits, your score will begin to improve.

But before you can begin to make any improvements, you really need to know how your score is determined. Your FICO score takes into account many factors, but some are far more important than others.

What Makes Up Your Credit Score:

• Payment History - 35%
• Total Amounts Owed - 30%
• Length of Credit History - 15%
• New Credit - 10%
• Type of Credit in Use - 10%

As you can see, simply making payments on time and keeping the total amount of debt down accounts for over 60% of your score. That doesn't mean that the length of credit history or the type of credit in use aren't important, but you should probably focus your efforts on the top two. Her is some additional information and tips to improve your credit.

The first step in personal financial planning is controlling your day-to-day financial affairs to enable you to do the things that bring you satisfaction and enjoyment. This is achieved by creating and following a budget. Controlling spending, saving money, and investing for the future are all important aspects of financial planning, but those things mean nothing if you don't have specific goals that you're working towards. In order to gauge your financial success, you need to have goals so that you can measure your success and progress. The second step in personal financial planning is choosing and following a course toward long-term financial goals.

The four steps to setting financial goals:

• Identify and write down your goals.
• Break goals down into short-term and long-term goals.
• Educate yourself.
• Evaluate your progress.

More information on setting financial goals.

Have you ever wondered how you can quickly estimate how fast your money or investments will grow? Sure, you can plug numbers into a financial calculator or software program to get an answer, but it doesn't have to be that hard. You can simply use the Rule of 72. This quick calculation will tell you how many years it will take your money to double based on a particular interest rate.

Of course, there are plenty of variables that affect how money grows in reality, but this quick calculation can be helpful when you want to have a rough idea, or are comparing two different investments or interest rates. Learn how you can use the Rule of 72 to estimate your returns.

Banking is just a part of life. Unless you keep all your cash locked up in a safe at home, you probably use a bank to hold on to most of your money. But not only do banks hold our money, but they provide a lot of useful services such as writing checks, offering ATM and debit cards, savings accounts, and even online bill payments. But these services aren't always free.

Even when a bank does offer free services, there are still many little events that can trigger small bank fees. Using an out of network ATM can cost you a few dollars. Having your balance in your account drop below a certain limit may trigger a monthly service fee. And obviously, overdrawing your account or writing a bad check can be costly.

While the fees may not always be large, if they happen frequently it can really start to add up. A few dollars here and there could end up costing you $20 each month or more. Learn how to reduce your bank fees and save money.

One of the greatest gifts for a child is money to help fund a college education. College is becoming more expensive while also a necessity for many career paths. You can help your own child, or friends and family by giving the gift of college savings. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

One of the best ways to do this is through a 529 plan. These plans make it easy to set up an investment account to help save money for college. One of the biggest benefits of these accounts is that if the money is used for qualified education expenses, the money can be taken out tax-free. This could save thousands of dollars that would otherwise go to taxes if you simply saved the money at the bank. In addition, you have various investment choices that can help that money grow even faster.

Even better, anyone can contribute money to the plan. So now you can tell grandma or grandpa to put the money that was going to go towards a savings bond into the 529, which will help even more.

Learn more about 529 plans:

• Understanding 529 Plans
• A Parent's Guide to 529 College Savings Plans
• Gift Idea for Kids: A 529 Plan Contribution

You may have heard that your credit score is important, but what is a FICO score? FICO is short for Fair Isaac and Co. The Fair Isaac Company developed custom software back in the 1980s that helped other companies determine a credit risk based on a number derived from a person's credit history. This number soon became a standard that was adopted by the three main credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The FICO score ranges between 300 and 850.

If your credit score is suffering, there are things you can do to help improve your score. While there's no silver bullet that can give you a good score overnight, just a few changes in your behavior can go a long way in improving it. Learn more about your credit score today.

Where do you turn when a financial emergency strikes? Do you resort to credit cards, borrowing money from friends and family, or do you have some money set aside? How you respond to a financial crisis can significantly impact your finances for years to come. Tapping into resources that are meant for something else to cover an emergency can set your retirement back, take money away from a college fund, or even lead to bankruptcy. Creating a financial safety net lies at the foundation of any financial plan. We hope to never have to use it, but we're thankful when it's there in a time of need. Learn some of the ways you can create your own financial safety net.

When you hear people talk about debt, the general consensus is that debt is bad and must be avoided at all costs. Credit cards or any type of debt are really just a financial tool, and when used properly, can be very beneficial. For example, how many people could save up hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a home with cash? It can be done, but it might take a few decades to reach that goal. Instead, by borrowing money you can use leverage to make the purchase now instead of waiting.

The problem with any tool is that they can be used improperly, which can ultimately do more harm than good. Using credit is no different. When used properly, you can leverage your buying power to make financial decisions that will benefit you in the long run. The basics to credit and debt cover:

1. How to establish credit.
2. The importance of your credit score.
3. How to improve your credit score.
4. Getting out of debt.
5. Borrowing money for college or a business.

Weather you're trying to establish credit for the first time, or you're already up to your eyeballs in debt, this credit and debt basics guide can help you begin to take control of your finances.

Are you planning and saving for retirement? That's good, but that may not be enough. While taking the initiative to plan for the future and begin saving money to fund your retirement goals is a great start, there are plenty of additional planning items to take note of. Here are six of the most common planning mistakes:

1. Not maximizing your employer match.
2. Borrowing from your retirement assets.
3. Failing to diversify.
4. Failing to rebalance your portfolio.
5. Taking an early distribution.
6. Becoming paralyzed by choices.

As you can see, saving for retirement is a great start, but there are many areas in which you can still make mistakes. Continue reading to learn more about these six retirement planning mistakes and how you can avoid them.

A budget is at the foundation of any financial plan, but unfortunately, most people don't take the time to create a budget, or have a difficult time following one. While it can be a bit daunting to sit down and go through all of your expenses and find out where you're money is going, that is the only way to completely understand your finances. Without knowing how much money you have coming in and how much is going out, and where it's going, it will be that much harder to get ahead.

Here is a basic introduction to budgeting. Once you learn the basics, you can head over to the step-by-step instructions for creating your own budget. It won't be long and you'll have a better understanding of where you're money goes, and how you can cut back so that you can fund your important financial goals.