The Spanish version actually went live for testing last October and was designed to be a mirror-image of its English counterpart.

It comes at a very good time, with Hispanic people accounting for more than half of the U.S. population increase. Hispanics now make up 16% of the total US population, which is 3% higher than it was a decade ago.

Users can access the Spanish version of myFICO.com by visiting espanol.myFICO.com or by finding and clicking the “Espanol” tab, which is located somewhere in the upper right portion of the myFICO.com homepage.

And it’s about time, too.

I know American English is our preferred language here, but you really can’t argue against the fact that there are a lot of Hispanics out there taking great pride in their mother tongue. Companies all around need to recognize that fact and make the most of it, especially those that deal in financial products like FICO.

If creating a Spanish version of FICO scores will give Hispanics an extra tool to be financially responsible, then why not?

Greg McBride, a senior analyst at Bankrate.com, says that this is a pursuit not worth undertaking.

Increasing your score from 760 to 800+ involves a lot of opening and using new credit while paying the interest rates at the same time, but the practical rewards are not quite as lucrative as you might think. McBride points out that a consumer will see very little difference between a score of 760 and a score of 800, and actually getting a score of 800-plus is just not worth the effort.

“It’s a lot more difficult to move the score up in any noticeable way, and little reward,” he says.

Here’s a comparison: a $300,000 30-year fixed mortgage will get you a 3.62% interest rate ($1,368 a month) if you have a credit score of 760 and above. The same mortgage will get you 3.85% ($1,406) if you have a score between 700 and 759. That’s a difference of $38 a month or $1,140 over the course of 30 years.

All this number crunching is useless, however, if all you are aiming for bragging rights with a score of 800 or more – something entirely different from what we’re talking about here.

This is where CreditKarma and CreditSesame come in. These two sites are offering credit scores absolutely free of charge. You don’t even need to submit your credit card number.

The catch is that the scores you will be looking at aren’t your FICO scores. They do come pretty close, though, so you will at least have a rough idea of what your actual FICO score is.

Personally, I really like the idea of it all. If I am concerned about my credit score and would like to see if my actions have helped or hindered its growth, then I would at least like to know the direction I’m going. The scores may not be 100% accurate, but I will have a pretty good idea of how I’m doing score-wise.

If you need to actually use a credit score, though, then I still suggest you cough up some money for a score directly from FICO. This is what most lenders will use to determine your interest rates as well as the maximum amount they will lend to you.

So while the scores offered by CreditKarma and CreditSesame aren’t 100% comparable to FICO scores, they can at least serve as a useful tool for tracking the effects of your financial actions on your credit score.

Total income is something that does not impact your credit score. A pay raise won’t do squat for your score, but the same can be said of a pay cut.

Employment will definitely impact your future expenditures, but holding down a job (or failure to do so) will not have a direct effect on your credit score. This is especially important for the newly-unemployed to remember when seeking loans.

Home value or underwater mortgages have no effect on your credit rating. Sure, you may have less money on equity and you may have a harder time selling the property, but this will not reflect on your score.

Savings will help you deal with emergencies and can make lenders feel more secure about your ability to repay loans, but they will not raise your credit score itself.

Revolving balances aka keeping a small amount of debt on your credit accounts will not raise your score – even if these companies benefit from your “contributions” via interest payments.

The Internal Revenue Service, however, offers an option to those hit by tax liens: pay or satisfy the debt and you can request that the lien be pulled off your record.

Do note that paying off your tax debts does NOT automatically erase your delinquent payments from your history. You also need to stick on this very hard; handing in lots of paperwork and following up with multiple phone calls. It may also take around 90 days or more for the whole program to be wrapped up and you may end up disputing things with the credit bureaus.

The funny thing is that there is no stream-lined process to go through the whole thing.

The IRS provides more details on its website, particularly THIS PAGE discussing adjustments on IRS lien policies, but be prepared to be more hands-on with this matter.

Don’t expect any consistent, step-by-step tutorial on how to do this. You’ve just got to go in hard and press for your case to push through – even if it means getting through to IRS agents who don’t want to do more paperwork.

Like the connection between impatience and low credit scores, for example.

The U.S. Federal Reserve studied 437 individuals with low-to-moderate incomes by analyzing their credit scores and having them fill out questionnaires. One particular observation was that impatient individuals tended to have lower credit scores.

The researchers conclude that these individuals prefer using money for the moment’s benefit instead of saving that money to pay off debt. It has even been proposed that some individuals take this concept to the point where they “strategically default” on their loans.

Impatience is, of course, just one factor in a sea of other factors that determine the credit score of an individual person. A lot of other factors like unemployment and financial emergencies could cause your credit score to take a serious hit.

Personally, though, I do believe that patience is very important if you want to succeed. Remember, it takes a lot of effort to plan for the future. It takes even more effort to bring those plans to fruition.

This report is essentially the blueprint of your credit history; which is why your credit report is one of your most important assets.

Your credit score, on the other hand, is computed based on a subset of information within your credit report which a lending institution will use along with other factors when determining your creditworthiness. That’s why the real key to credit is your credit report.

Here are a few bits of trivia to help you understand why your report matters more than your score and why you focus on your report rather than your score

Credit scores are a reflection of your credit report.

It’s like your grades in school; you do well in your academics and you get a good grade. Those grades are simply a reflection of your academic performance. Your credit score is just a reflection of your financial performance, which in turn is concretely laid out on your credit report.

You can dispute your credit report but not your credit score.

If you think any part of your credit report is inaccurate or incomplete, then you can formally send a complaint to the credit bureaus. You can present receipts of payment and other documents to prove your point. Credit scores, on the other hand, are just numbers that you have no objective basis for disputing at all. If you want to know why your score just dropped a hundred points, then you will end up having to review your credit report just the same.

Credit reports are consistent; your scores aren’t.

Your ability (or failure) to follow through on your financial obligations will be reflected on your report, but the effects will vary depending on what credit bureau you get your score from. This is because credit reporting agencies have their own methods of calculating scores. While the score ranges are typically similar, even slight differences can keep you on or knock you off a credit score range.

Employers and insurers look at credit reports and not the scores.

Your credit report is a more reliable measure of your personal responsibility and ability to smartly handle money than a set of numbers. This is why employers and insurers are granted access to a person’s credit report, and even that report is edited to filter out private data. A flattering credit report can then be considered a useful asset for those looking for leverage in job hunts and career shifts.

Credit reports can help you identify potential errors or fraud.

If your credit score is down, oftentimes you won’t know the reasons why – much less realize that something is wrong. If there is a suspicious item in your credit report, however, then you can easily pinpoint where the trouble is. This will allow you to check if there has been an error in the bureaus or if you have actually become the victim of identity theft.

Remember: your score is only a reflection of your report, and that report will tell you where you did well and where you went wrong. Keep all this in mind and you will quickly realize that credit reports are much more important in your life.

You may want to file a credit freeze to prevent identity theft and keep your assets intact.

A credit freeze is an order from you, a consumer, to the credit reporting agencies telling them to stop releasing your credit-related information until you say otherwise. This makes it harder for identity thieves from creating new accounts and then pulling out credit in your name.

This may be the best solution to prevent identity theft, but it is not foolproof. Some lenders are sloppy and don’t check with the credit agencies prior to creating new accounts. Social security numbers can also be used in other identity-related schemes like healthcare fraud. They can also use your personal information when arrested. They can walk away from bail while the police hunt you down instead of them.

Still, credit freezes are the most reliable ways to prevent further credit-related damage to your name. You can then alert the authorities and give yourself enough time to modify PINs, passwords, usernames and email addresses.

Set a budget. This is common sense, yes, but you would be surprised how easy it is to lose control when you are not monitoring your expenses. List down all the things you want to buy, list down all the financial obligations you have, strike a balance, create a budget and stick to it.

Grab a pre-holiday credit report. Availing of a free credit report just before the holiday seasons will give you a solid idea of how you stand even before the holiday spending come rolling around the corner. It will also set the bar for how your finances are, so all you need to do is maintain or surpass that bar.

Don’t fall for credit card deals. Most credit card deals are not deals at all – just overly-hyped sales pitches that always have a catch. If you find a deal that you really like, then make sure to read the fine print before committing yourself.

Keep debt under 50% of your limit. Accruing credit card debt is bad for your credit. But if you absolutely must expose yourself to debt, then at least keep it below 50% of the limit to minimize the damage to your score.

So what does this mean for us, the average American consumer?

The obvious effect will be on the financing capabilities of individuals. Some people will benefit from their favorable payment histories, while others will end up taking a direct hit to their scores. Consumer transparency is the keyword here, and it’s going to be something that the banks and lenders will love to toss around.

And then there’s the scary possibility of people being “defined” by their credit scores.

This is already happening to a certain extent. Established individuals with high credit scores are given the opportunity to buy homes or take out an auto loan, yes, but the folks that are struggling with financial difficulties don’t need more handicaps in their lives.

Then again, the inability to properly assess the likelihood that someone’s going to pay his or her debts on time is needed now more than ever. Remember subprime mortgaging? Yep, that basically killed the real estate market and took the rest of the American economy down with it.

How about you – what’s your take on this recent move by FICO? Yea or nay?