How Paying Rent Can Boost Your Credit Score

Numbers can drive you nuts. Some folks don't like the digits that reveal their ages, others get frustrated by the ones that make up their bank balances. Some parents can't figure out the "new math," and some of us are still a little shaky on the old math. But one number nearly everyone would agree they'd like to raise is their credit score.

In these times when credit is still tight, money is short, and jobs are hard to come by, the benchmark of your credit score carries more weight than ever.

In a sense, your credit score is a crystal ball that's meant to reveal your character, and building a credit history is key to making that picture clear. Traditionally, that meant taking on debt that you could then pay off, like a mortgage, car loan or credit cards. But in terms of your credit history, paying your rent on time meant nothing.