Boosting your credit score

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Lending standards have tightened, making credit scores more important, says Steve Ely, president of personal-information solutions for Equifax.

Some lenders are checking scores from all three agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, he says.

Also, employers are getting scores on prospective employees and insurers are doing so for new customers, as lower scores are correlated with higher incidents of claims, he adds.

Credit scores affect the terms and costs of mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. Here is a guide to improving scores in today's tough climate: