Credit Score Basics: What You Need to Know

Published: Febuary 15, 2026 | Category: Credit

Your credit score affects your ability to rent an apartment, buy a car, or get a mortgage. Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works and how to improve it.

What Is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a three-digit number (typically 300–850) that lenders use to evaluate your creditworthiness. The most common is the FICO score.

Five Factors That Determine Your Score

1. Payment history (35%): Pay all bills on time.
2. Amounts owed (30%): Keep credit card balances low relative to your limits (utilization below 30%).
3. Length of credit history (15%): Older accounts help.
4. Credit mix (10%): A mix of credit cards, loans, etc., can be positive.
5. New credit (10%): Avoid opening many accounts at once.

How to Check Your Score

You can get free scores from sites like Credit Karma, or a free annual report from AnnualCreditReport.com (no score, but detailed history).

Quick Tips to Boost Your Score

• Set up autopay for at least the minimum due.
• Pay down credit card debt.
• Become an authorized user on a responsible family member’s card.
• Dispute errors on your credit report.

Improving your score takes time, but small steps lead to big savings on interest rates.