…and a slight rant on why they make no sense If you know nothing about credit scores, know that it’s simply a number that shows how good of a borrower you are to anyone that might want to lend you money. Here are a few ways of understanding why scores…

Paying it forward because this community is amazing. Starting anything is daunting and it can be a real challenge to find any traction, especially when it comes to Medium. At the very least, it was difficult for me to find the motivation to write with no idea how I would…

Derogatory marks, Account mix, Hard Inquiries, and Total Balances TLDR; Having multiple kinds of credit and limiting new applications for credit if you’re saving up for something big like an auto loan or mortgage will all help, but above all else, only borrow what you can afford.

How close are you to maxing out? TLDR; The lower our balance is, the better. This applies to single cards and across all of our accounts. Read on for some optimization tips. Credit usage or utilization ranks similarly to credit history in determining our credit scores, which means it matters…

And the only way to actually jumpstart this factor. TLDR; The longer you have been using credit, the better! If you haven’t opened your first account yet, now might be a great time to do it. Otherwise, see if you’re eligible for boosting it. Credit history is another impactful factor…

The single most important factor in our credit scores. TLDR; If you have a proven record of repeatedly paying your debts on time, then you’re trusted. So try not to miss a payment! Payment history is a major component in credit scoring models to convince lenders to lend us money…

But it does in 2021. Normally, inflation quietly erodes our potential wealth, but this year inflation is hitting like a truck and making headlines every day. Here’s something mindblowing: wages have risen 5% over the last year, but our actual ability to buy stuff has fallen 1.2%. Despite making “more”…