6Feb/120
Checking Your Credit Report
Your credit score is one of most important numbers in your life. Lenders use your score to determine your creditworthiness. A low score means that you will pay more to borrow money. One late payment can lower your score by as much as 110 points. It is imperative that you check your credit score for accuracy at least once a year. Creditors occasionally misreport data, which can have a drastic effect on your score.
21Sep/110
Calculating your credit score
A credit score measures the likelihood that someone will pay bills in a timely manner. This score is taken into account by lenders when a person applies for credit cards, insurance policies, mortgages, bank loans and car loans. A common scale used for scoring credit in the United States is the FICO, which was originated through the Fair Isaac Corporation. The FICO scale ranges from 300 (bad credit) to 850 (excellent credit), with the majority of Americans falling into the 600-800 range. Some of the factors used to determine one`s credit score are as follows: