Your credit and your use of it control your financial life. If you've got great credit, you can get what you want more cheaply and conveniently than somebody with poor credit. The funny thing, though, is that even as important as credit is, few people learn how to use it effectively.

I lived the first twenty-five years of my life without using credit. Really - I paid cash for everything, and I only bought what I could pay for with cash. Then I got married, went to college, and started getting credit card offers in the mail every day. I'd heard horror stories about what misuse of credit could do, so I was determined to do this credit thing right the first time through. I got myself a crash course in credit, and now you'll reap all the benefits.

I've divided this Pillar of Wealth into a few sections. Just click on whichever section applies to you:

• Credit History
• Credit Repair
• Credit Cards
• Credit Card Debt