Raise Your Credit Score, Save Big on Loans

This week I'd like to continue our conversation about how to Save Big (not small) -- something we could all stand to do right now. This week's topic: how to raise your credit score to Save Big on credit.

The higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate you will be charged for loans.

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As I've been telling you in the past few columns, I recently wrote a book called "Save Big," but it doesn't come out until January, and I feel like people need the information right now because of the crummy economy. So I'm sharing my favorite tips and tricks in this space each week in an effort to help and to get a conversation going in which you also share big savings ideas with me.

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Click here if you have one for me. Remember to qualify it as a "Save Big" idea -- the savings achieved must be more than $1,000 in less than a year.

I maintain that the best places to find Big Savings are among our top five costs: houses, cars, credit, groceries and health care. Sandwiched right in the middle is credit, a puzzling one. Most people don't think of credit as an expense, and I'm trying to change that. We purchase credit just like we purchase houses and cars. The price of credit is the interest. For example, the interest owed on a $200,000 mortgage at 7 percent is $279,160 over the life of the 30-year loan. The credit costs even more than the house!

There are two ways to Save Big on credit: by using less of it or getting it for less. Today let's tackle the latter. The higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate you will be charged for loans. A lower interest rate can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.