Many people have no idea what their credit score is and many people don’t even know what a credit score is. This is basically your financial livelihood. The higher your credit score, the better rates you will get on loans, mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. Wikipedia classifies a credit score as, “a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person, which is the perceived likelihood that the person will pay debts in a timely manner. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically sourced from credit bureaus / credit reference agencies.”

There are 3 main credit scoring agencies and they are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. All have a little bit different method on calculating your scores. Your credit or FICO (Fair Issac & CO) score usually is in the range between 850 and 300. The higher the score, the better. The lower the score, the more work you need to do to improve it. If you are above a 700, you are safe and are considered to have excellent or very good credit which usually qualifies you for some of the lower rates. Once you dip below 620, you need to start being more careful about your financial situation. A credit score can sink for a number of reasons including late payments, too much credit utilization (using a high percentage of a credit card limit), too many recent inquiries, collections amongst many other reasons. It’s safe to say that you should use as little credit as possible and always make payments on time.

You can go to each scoring agency separately (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax) to get your credit report and score but it’s much easier to go to myFICO.com and get all three at once for one low price. You can check everything online and you can also print off copies for your own records. Right now you can get 25% Off on all myFICO products. This is a great way to find out where you are financially especially if you are looking to make a major purchase such as a car, home, boat or anything that will require you to apply for credit.

It’s a very good idea to check your credit report and score periodically to make sure you are not a victim of credit fraud or identity theft. If you have been or would like to prevent identity theft, it’s a good idea to contact a company like LifeLock Identity Theft Services.

Best of luck with your financial well-being and don’t forget to check your credit report and scores and get 25% off.

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