Guest Author - Bonnie Sayers

For six weeks now the Oprah show has been following three families who are participants in America's Debt Diet. Each Friday is a show that updates how the families are doing with tips from the financial experts assigned to the family.

I was really surprised one of the experts was not Suze Orman. Anyone can participate in America's Debit Diet with many sending in their home videos to the show for airing.

Back in August of 2004 I filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, with the chargeoff taking place in December 2004. Just this weekend I got approved for my first credit card since the Bankruptcy. I have never known what my FICO score was and with hearing more about it in the media and on commercials I decided I needed to know more about my credit.

So far on Oprah's show they have covered eight steps in getting out of debt. I personall do not have any debt, but want to make sure I don't fall back into old patterns. I learned from the tips and even had my 11 year-old son viewing a few of the shows to learn about money. This came in handy when I explained why we would not be going to Burger King.

Your scores affect automobile and homeowner's insurance rates and at some point this can include health and life insurance premiums also. Please check out this article from bankrate.com on How credit scores affect insurance rates.

Using the Suze Orman's FICO Kit was really easy to do. I inserted the CD and was instantly brought to a page to click enter and input some personal data to get a report of my choice from one of the three reporting agencies and my FICO score was on the screen in a matter of minutes.

Although my score is low, 610, I was expecting it to be a lot lower. All the information transmitted and input was through myfico.com. I was able to view my report and click on what information was incorrect.

Next a letter was prompted through my entries to contact myfico.com on adding my new phone number, employer and a question about a creditor on my account that did not seem to have Bankruptcy information attached to it. This left an open amount on my credit file when there should be zero creditors.

The page with all the data for the letter is listed and a print sign to click for the letter to be in your hands. I do not have a printer and did note that this will be available for me when I do get one and I cut and pasted it into a word document for easy access.

Each Suze Orman's FICO Kit comes with a fifteen digit number and letter configuration that is your activation code. I activated my account today, April 9, 2006 and obtained one credit report with one FICO score. I have until 8-1-07 to obtain the other two reports and scores with this kit.

I also had the option to view another report and get a score today, but since I want to repair this report with Equifax, I want to wait before getting the Trans Union or Experian data. There was a toll-free number for both Equifax and myfico.com.

The Suze Orman's FICO Kit has personal coaching to guide you into how to get out of debt and to help determine how much you can afford for a house. This is a 12-month period of coaching from the date of activation. Users will learn how to improve their FICO scores with tips to peruse and then a simulator to see how much your score will improve if you do a number of steps. It looked like mine could go up 30-40 points if I obtain a credit card with a minimum of $500.

The three scores and reports can all be done on yourself or you can have another person in your household access their data through the kit. This is a good deal for a couple going through America's Debt Diet to view their report and learn their score at the beginning of their debt down plan and once again in a few months to see what they have achieved.

You can always view Suze Orman on Saturday and Sunday evenings on CNBC. I enjoy watching her answer questions and chat with the guy on her program. She sells her products on QVC also. There is an Insurance CD I plan on getting next.

The Suze Orman's FICO kit sells for $49.95 on www.suzeorman.com

A Higher FICO score saves you money