Personal Finance

Credit Score

A number (300 to 850) that estimates how reliably you repay debt.

Your credit score decides whether you get loans and what interest rate you pay. The two biggest factors are paying on time and keeping your credit-card balances low relative to your limits. It is one of the highest-return things to get right, because a better score can save you tens of thousands in interest over a lifetime.

For example

Keeping card balances under 30% of your limit and never missing a payment can move a score into "good" (670+) territory over time.

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