Welcome to Episode 56 of The Vampire Squid! Today we have on Bethy Hardeman, Chief Consumer Advocate, at Credit Karma! I wish I had taken a personal finance course in high school / college so I would have a better understanding of why a credit score is important, and the levers that I could pull to increase my score. Today’s episode is packed with advice on your credit score as well as debunking some myths about your credit score. Hope you all enjoy!

* How did you get involved with Credit Karma and become the Chief Consumer Advocate?
* What are some of the inputs for a Credit Score, and what is it used for?

* Why your credit score isn’t just for credit cards


* What are the levers to pull to increase your credit score and to do it faster?
*   Can having too high of a credit limit be bad for your credit score?
* What are some of the other myths about your credit score that aren’t necessarily true?
* How are users of Credit Karma affected by the Equifax, if it all?
* Can opening too many credit cards be bad for your credit score?
* When should one close a credit card?
* What piece of advice would you leave my listeners with, especially ones in college or one or two jobs straight out of college?

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. Email me directly at alan@the vampiresquid.com or on the contact form. Also, please subscribe to my facebook page for live updates facebook.com/thevampiresquid. Also follow me on Quora at https://www.quora.com/profile/Alan-Li-1. To support us check us out at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thevampiresquid