Did you know that March is National Credit Education Month? To mark the occasion, Vince thought he'd share some info from the National Financial Educators Council Credit Education Guide. If you'd like a copy of the full guide, just drop him a note at [email protected]

Credit Bureaus are

• Companies that collect information about your credit and other financial obligations

Credit History

• Companies that you have loans with report how you have managed your debt to the credit bureaus. All this information is compiled into your credit history.

Credit Score

• Credit scoring companies (FICO and AdvantageScore) use credit history info to calculate and assign you a credit score, which is used as a measure your creditworthiness

• The FICO scoring system is currently the most widely used and currently evaluates the following credit history elements with the following weights:

  • 35% is based on your payment history.

  • 30% reflects the amounts you currently owe.

  • 15% is from the length of your credit history.

  • 10% is from new credit and the number of recently-opened accounts.

  • 10% is based on the types of credit you use.

• FICO credit score ranges

• Exceptional 800 - 850

• Very Good 740 - 799

• Good 670 - 739

• Fair 580-669

• Poor 300 - 579

Credit Report

• A summary of your credit history and credit scores is published by the credit bureaus as a credit report

Resources

• www.AnnualCreditReport.com

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