Interest rates and credit limits are not the only terms set based on credit scores. Insuranceproviders are beginning to set premiums based on credit scores. Property managers set rentaldeposits based on credit scores. Service providers, such as residential and mobile phonecompanies, approve accounts and set deposits based on credit scores. FICO scores range from 300 to 850, with 850 being the best possible score.

The average creditscore is 675 and the median credit score is 725. Typically, any credit score over 720 is eligiblefor favorable credit terms, like a low interest rate, while credit scores below 660 usually can onlyqualify for expensive, high-interest “subprime” credit.The average American has about $10,000 in credit card debt and the average annual percentagerate (APR) is about 15% (1.25% monthly periodic rate). If this average American paid 2.5% of the debt each month ($250), it would take 26 years to pay off the debt and cost $9,757.71 ininterest. So, this average American borrows $10,000 and pays back nearly $20,000.Now, imagine two not-so-average Americans borrow the same amount on each cardholder’scredit card account. One, we will call him Jack, has a 780 FICO score and the other, Jill, has a600 FICO score. Jack was able to get a 9% APR while Jill’s credit card company gave her a 24%APR. Using the same low monthly payment model as the average American with the 15% APR,we can see how much bad credit can cost you.Jack, with a 9% APR (0.75% monthly periodic rate), will pay $250 each month for 19 years andfour months to pay off the $10,000 balance and only pay $4,191.60 in interest. Jill, with her 24%APR (2% monthly periodic rate), will have to pay $298 each month because of new regulationsrequiring credit card companies to set minimum payments no lower than all interest and fees plus1% of the account balance. This means that more of Jill’s monthly income ($48) is consumedwith minimum monthly credit card payments, but that’s not all. It will take Jill about 33 yearsand five months to pay off the entire balance and she will pay $19,949.30 in interest – nearlytwice what she borrowed!

As you can see, bad credit is costly. It cost Jill an extra $15,757.70. Bad credit can causeproperty managers to require hefty deposits (that’s assuming they approve your rentalapplication) and may even cost you an employment opportunity as some employers use creditreports to screen potential hires – and let’s not forget about insurance premiums. But these areonly the immediate costs of bad credit. Jill also lost over 14 years and $48 of monthly cash flowthat she could have used to pay other bills and buy groceries.

The cost of bad credit stretches beyond what you pay in interest, deposits and higher insurancepremiums. There are the lost opportunities because so much of your hard-earned money is beingsunk down the bad credit drain. Your credit card payments equate to $250 you are not investingeach month into a 401k, ROTH IRA or other investment account. If Jill was able to contribute$100 to her company’s 401k plan and her employer matched her $100 each month for 35 years,she could retire with about $760,000 (assuming a 10% annual rate of return).

So, low credit scores cost us far more than interest payments and even more than the lostopportunity to earn nearly one million dollars. Debt stress seeps over into our personal lives,causing marital stress, personal stress and even health problems. But don’t let these facts get youdown. Use them to motivate you in your efforts to better your situation and put the gloomy daysof poor credit behind you.

New research suggests that using a summary of your credit report — your credit score — to screen potential employees is not supported by the evidence. Contrary to what many employers consider common knowledge and practice, researchers found no correlation between poor credit scores and bad behavior on the job.

A credit score is the distillation of much of the information in your credit report to a three-digit number. The most commonly used credit score is the FICO score. Scores are not a permanent part of your credit file and they do not persist in the credit bureau’s databases. Credit scores are not shared with third parties — including your current or a potential employer — by any of the credit reporting agencies.

According to a 2010 poll by the Society for Human Resource Management, 60 percent of surveyed employers conducted credit checks (getting a credit report, not your credit score) for some or all candidates as part of the hiring process. But the upcoming study in the Journal of Applied Psychology shows no connection between poor credit scores and theft — although some interesting connections were discovered.

“With regards to personality and credit — it makes sense that conscientiousness is related to good credit, but what was really interesting was that agreeableness was negatively related to your credit score,” said Jeremy Bernerth, Ph.D., assistant professor at Louisiana State University.

“That suggests easygoing individuals actually have worse credit scores than disagreeable and rude individuals,” he said. Such congenial people might get themselves in trouble by co-signing loans for friends or family or taking out additional credit cards at the suggestion of store clerks, according to Bernerth.

“It was telling that poor credit scores were not correlated to theft and other deviant types of work behaviors,” said Bernerth.

“Most companies attempt to justify the use of credit scores because they think such employees will end up stealing, but our research suggests that might not be the case.”

Although the study looked at credit scores and theft, employers do not have access to a potential employee’s credit score — only their credit report. The study suggests that the summary of your credit report — your credit score — has no predictive value on whether you will steal from an employer.

Source: Louisiana State University

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who still have good credit, congratulations. You’re likely getting great offers on mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, credit cards and auto loans. Heck, your car insurance is probably cheaper, too!

Still, it might be to your advantage to bump that score up just a few extra points. While an even higher credit score can’t always assure you a better deal, it can’t hurt. And there are ways that even incremental gains can make an impact.

Know more about your score
No matter what score you’ve earned, it’s important to know what system was used to get your score — and what it means. Changes in the credit score world may require a quick review.

FICO scores: When most people think of credit scores, they probably think of the FICO score, a scale developed by the Fair Isaac Corp. Variations of the algorithm are used by the three major national credit bureaus to come up with a number that fits in a rough range of 300 to 850, which helps lenders assess how risky it is to loan money to you.

While the definition between good credit and great credit varies, you can safely assume you’re in the top tier if you’ve got a score of 770 or above. The ranges vary greatly, however, so a score of 700 may be considered just as good as 770 to some lenders.

Vantage scores: This scoring system, introduced a few years ago, is intended to simplify and standardize scores across the three bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. One of the problems with FICO scores is that each credit bureau uses a variation of the formula, which means that even if the exact same information is provided to each bureau, they may still come up with different scores. So, the three bureaus agreed to use the same methodology to compute Vantage scores, which should provide more consistency.

The Vantage scores, which range from 501 to 990, are associated with a letter grade from A to F, which will help consumers get a handle on where their credit stands. (901 and above is an A; letter grades drop at hundred-point intervals.)

“Essentially, it’s just another way of stratifying things,” says Cate Williams, vice president of financial literacy for Money Management International. “The basic elements of a credit scoring system are going to be the same.”

In other words, if you have a good FICO score, you’re likely to have a good Vantage score. If you have a poor FICO score, it will be reflected by the Vantage score as well.

Expansion scores: This is another relatively new offering in the credit scoring realm, provided by Fair Isaac. If you’re new to the world of credit, an Expansion score evaluates financial relationships that aren’t usually considered in a traditional credit score.

“This system gives a fair shake, computationally, to people who don’t have a long credit history,” says Boyce Watkins, finance professor at Syracuse University. The scores have the same range as traditional FICO scores.

Don’t be desperate; it’s not the end of the world. It’s but natural to incur expenses as you go on with your daily life. Most especially now that almost every price of an item you need is soaring high. This is one reason why people find loans, credit cards, and other credit transactions more attractive.

Transactions involving credit is not that easy to apply for, you will need to have a good credit rating based on your credit report. Your credit report holds your credit score, or formally known as the FICO score.

The FICO score of each person applying for credit is very important. This is usually the deciding factor for any company to approve your application for credit. This will determine whether you’re eligible or not.

You should not disregard your FICO score. This means that from the very start, you should have handled all your credit transactions in a good manner and pays your bill on time. If you’ve been living your life like this, then you can expect a high FICO score. Having a high credit score means that you have great chances in getting secured loans, credit cards, and the like.

A high FICO score indicates that you’re a low risk for creditors, which means that once they extend you a loan (or any credit transaction), you can pay off your dues on time.

FICO scores have different ranges. If you’ve scored 500-559, it means that you should start improving your score. 560-619 scores have great troubles in obtaining credit, and for you to have a decent score, you must get a score of 675-699. Scores from 700-719 can expect a favorable response when it comes to financing terms. For people having FICO scores from 720-850, a big round of applause for you, because you’ve attained the best score of all; you will certainly have no trouble in applying for any credit term.

Aside from the different score-range, the FICO score is divided into five categories: the payment history, the credit history’s length, amounts owned, new credit, and the type of credit that you have used. These categories have a direct relation to your credit scores.

Your credit report will contain information such as retail accounts, credit cards, mortgages, installment loans, unpaid accounts, bankruptcy, and other pertinent information regarding your history (on credit). You can’t lie because the records are pieces of evidence which proves your eligibility.

However, there are also times when some information contained in your credit report are not that accurate, so you need to check with the bureau along with your supporting papers at least once every year to have your records updated.

You are free to visit the bureau. In fact, three known bureaus gather credit reports. They are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

The FICO score is your credit score, and remember, you must get a high score to have any application on your favor. One of the best ways to cope with your expenditures is through credit, so it is a must that you get a high FICO score. Be responsible with your finances.

If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you haven’t heard about credit scores. Credit scores are an important part of today’s life. This particular three-digit number will determine whether you are likely to pay the loan you will apply for or will pay the monthly bills.

If you have a low credit score, then getting a phone line hooked up in your house can be very difficult to do. Some phone companies take a look at your credit score in order to determine if you will likely pay their monthly bills or not. Sometimes, certain jobs will require you to have a high credit score. It is a fact that people who are qualified for a certain job in a company are usually denied of the job because they have a low credit score. This is why you should consider taking all the necessary steps to have a high credit score or at least have a good credit score.
In the United States, Fair Isaac Corporation or FICO is the best known credit score model that calculates your credit score. This company calculates your credit score by using mathematical formulas. It is a calculation that is widely used by lenders, such as credit card companies and banks.

The FICO score is designed to provide information to lending companies if a particular person will likely pay their bills or not. It will also contain reports of your past loan application and if you will be delinquent in the next 2 years or the next 24 months.

There are also three credit reporting agencies existing in the United States today and uses their own methods and formula to calculate your credit score. Each calculation differs, even if it was developed by FICO, and are updated periodically that will reflect your repayment behavior. Also, lenders or creditors use whichever calculation they want to use.

The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. By having a high or good credit score, you will be able to access low interest credit cards and also low interest loans. You will also have a higher chance of getting hired by companies that require a good credit score.

You now ask what makes a good credit score number in the FICO score.

It is a fact that having a higher credit score is good. But you also have to know what makes a good number that will guarantee you of getting approved for a credit card or a loan. In the FICO score, a good number is at around 725.660. By having this kind of score, you will have a higher chance of getting approved for that car loan, mortgage or for that credit card you have been applying for.

You can get your credit score from FICO or from the credit reporting agencies annually for free. Or, you can also get your credit score as often as you want within the year for a fee.

Always remember that by having a good credit score number, you will be able to have access to low interest loans, and credit cards. By having at least a 725.660 credit score, you will be deemed credit worthy. Make sure you have a higher credit score in order to save thousands of dollars in terms of interest rates.