Take Advantage of Fair Isaac's New Openness

You make $67,000 a year, have a $250,000 mortgage, an additional $10,000 in credit card debt and a credit score of 681. And according to Fair Isaac (FIC Quote), the company whose proprietary credit-score system lenders use to determine creditworthiness, buying a Porsche is a bad financial move.

Sorry. Have you considered a Toyota Corolla?

In five years, if Steven Sjoblad's grand vision comes true, Fair Isaac will do more than just provide the FICO credit score that lenders use to make billions of loan decisions each year. Sjoblad, the company's vice president of global consumer services, sees Fair Isaac becoming a one-stop shopping center for all aspects of consumer credit -- from how to improve a credit score to how to properly use credit. ...