FICO COUNTS

Your FICO score, developed byFair, Isaac & Co, is what lendersoften use to decide whether to giveyou a loan and what interest rate tocharge on any loan you get. A borrowerwith a FICO score of 720 to850 can negotiate a loan with anaverage 6.507% interest rate, accordingto MyFico.com. Lower theFICO score to under 700, however,and the average interest rate jumpsto 7.17%. A score under 675 pushesinterest up to 8.32%.That makesyour FICO score one of the moreimportant numbers in your life.Knowing what it is and finding outways to improve it should be a fiscalpriority for credit-concerneddoctors. You can find both atMyFico.com, where $12.95 will getyou your score and an analysis ofyour credit standing.