Your Financial Grade

Your credit score is basically a grade (300-850) that tells lenders how responsible you are with borrowed money. A higher score means better interest rates and easier approval for loans, apartments, and even some jobs.

What Affects Your Score

• Payment history (35%): Do you pay bills on time?
• Credit utilization (30%): Are you maxing out your credit cards?
• Length of credit history (15%): How long have you had credit?
• New credit (10%): Are you opening tons of accounts?
• Credit mix (10%): Do you have different types of credit (cards, loans)?

How to Improve It

1. Pay on time, always: Set up autopay for at least the minimum payment
2. Keep credit card balances under 30%: If your limit is $10,000, keep the balance under $3,000
3. Don't close old cards: Even if you're not using them, they help your credit age
4. Check your credit report: Get your free report at annualcreditreport.com and dispute errors
5. Be patient: Good credit takes time to build

What's a Good Score?

670-739 is good, 740-799 is very good, 800+ is excellent.

Want to understand how debt affects your finances? Check out our Debt Repayment Calculator!