Credit Score For Dummies

*Welcome to our weekly credit lessons to brush up on your credit know-how!*

One of the biggest misconceptions amongst consumers is that there is one correct credit score. In fact, there are dozens of credit score models, and there are natural differences between your credit scores.

Not only does each credit bureau report a different credit score model, but even within the same bureau several credit score models exist, such as Equifax’s BEACON score and ScorePower.

With so many credit score models out there, the score that your mortgage lender uses could differ from that which your credit card issuer and your auto loan provider uses. T

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*Welcome to our weekly credit lessons to brush up on your credit know-how!*

While scrolling through the Credit Karma blog, I stumbled upon a credit score quiz. I’m happy to say that I only missed three out of ten questions, but I also realized that I, along with many other consumers, am still a credit newbie. So I’m going to start by brushing up on the basics.

Anatomy of a Credit Score

Your credit score is a three-digit number that has an effect on many areas of your financial life. It’s used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness, or the likelihood that you’ll pay your debts in a timely manner. Wheneve

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**Welcome to Do Today Thursdays here at Credit Karma Bootcamp: Your 31-Day Credit Health Plan. Every week, we’ll cover the 3 most useful moves to do now for your specific credit score range.**

The average Joe and Jane with excellent credit has a sky-high Credit Karma credit score of 720 or higher. Lenders and issuers treat these consumers as the cream of the crop—premium rates, access to best financing options and offers, approval on almost all credit cards, and extra leverage when negotiating terms.

Joe and Jane are the best kind of customers, so lenders and issuers will go extra lengths to get and keep their business. An

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There are many ways where you can make credit mistakes which can harm your credit score at times mildly and at times severely. It is important that you are aware of the common mistakes frequently committed and which can be avoided so that you can escape from the frustration, tension and save huge amount of money. The more you are aware of the mistakes and have enough information about the credit scores, the better you will be able to handle your finances and credit scores. Some of the common mistakes that can harm your credit score drastically are:

1. Discontinuation of credit card by closing it is one the most common mistakes. It can drastically affect your credit score.

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People have many fallacies about credit scores as they believe that their credit scores does not matter their credit history or that they do not have any credit scores. You need to be aware of these misconceptions as it might hurt you in various ways in the future, be it in securing a job of your choice, getting a good interest rate for any kind of loan or even buying a home.

The fact is that if you have a bank account and have been using it for clearing bills, then you will have a credit score. It is very important to keep track of your credit score which might be have many names like credit risk rating, FICO score or FICO rating, credit rating or a credit risk score.

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Missing a payment is the surest way of dropping your credit score. but what about other transgressions like going over your limit on your credit card or bouncing a check?

Bouncing a check: This is unlikely to hurt your credit score because banks don’t report bounced checks to credit bureaus. There are only a couple of instances in which a bad check can hurt you.

First, if you’re applying for a mortgage, your lender will do one of two thing: request bank statements, or request a verification of deposit (VOD) from your lender. If you’ve bounced any checks recently, it will show up on your bank statements and you’ll have some explaining to do. If your

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