So friend to friend, I just want you to know that your credit score has power. That three-digit number can help you score the best interest rates and loans, so it's worth the time to boost up your score.

In this reboot episode, Marcia Barnes, CEO of the Finance Bar, is sharing the ABCs of getting

your credit score in shape, why it's so important and surprising ways your credit score might

come in handy.

Music ways your credit score might come in handy. There's no easy way for me to put this, except to say, you're the CEO of the business of

you and you create your own financial brand.

But the good news is you're in total control. You can change your brand if you don't like what it looks like. And one of the best places to

start is with your credit score that is so overlooked. Look, if you do nothing else for this year,

I want you to grab your credit score by the tail and yank it up to

700 plus, preferably over 740, but you don't have to get all crazy trying for an 850 score,

but I don't want you to get lazy either. Even if you have a good score, it can drop tomorrow.

It can drop in a second by just one silly little mishap.

So on today's podcast, I'm talking with my bud and all around amazing, badass woman, Marcia Barnes, the brains behind the finance bar.

She's passionate about financial literacy and was named the official brand ambassador for FICO, the people that put out the credit scores. So I compiled all of my credit score questions and all of yours and went straight to Marcia for some actionable tips to help

us both get our credit score in check this year. So Marcia, I am so excited to have you on the podcast.

We have been friends now for, gosh, over a year. And it's just always such a great time to have a conversation with you.

Oh, it's always a good time to be with you. It's kind of like girlfriends just having a chat on the phone talking about something that's really important to all of us, which is money and finances. So I'm glad to

be here. Awesome. Well, I wanted to start out. I often describe credit score as kind of that

crazy relative you have that you see the holidays, but maybe you want nothing to do with the rest

of the year. We all have one of those relatives. And we don't think about our credit score until we actually

need to use it. What is the power of your credit score? Why does this matter so much?

Well, I think the number one thing that many people may not admit is that money or having a good credit score gives you a level of some sort of financial

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