Can You Pass This Tricky Credit Score Quiz?

But if you're in the United States, one score rules them all when the time comes for you to apply for a loan, open a credit card, or rent an apartment: the FICO score. According to FICO, 90% of top lenders use their scoring model to make lending decisions. Which means that when you apply for credit or a loan, your FICO score will probably get pulled.

Your credit score is a three digit number, usually between 300 and 850.

Credit scores come in several ranges: poor, fair, good, very good, and exceptional.

You can look at your credit score all day long without losing a single point, because when you check your own credit, it's only a "soft inquiry." However, when you apply for new loans or credit cards and financial institutions pull your credit report, this is called a "hard inquiry" — and applying for lots of new credit can hurt your score. But again, you can't hurt your score by taking a look.

So yeah, if you go to pull your credit score and there's nothing there, that doesn't mean you're a ghost. But it could mean that you might want to look into ways to responsibly build your credit, like taking out a secured credit card.

Instead, your score is based on information on your credit report about your payment history, credit utilization, credit mix, length of credit history, and recent applications for new credit.

Closing a credit card can actually hurt your credit score, which seems like the opposite of what you might expect. Here's the thing: When you close an account, it potentially changes the average age of your accounts, your credit utilization, and your credit mix — all of which can shave precious points off your score.

As you make purchases, pay off debt, take out new credit, or close old accounts, your credit score keeps going up and down. While it can take time to make big improvements in your score, it's definitely doable!

Your credit utilization, or how much of your available credit you're actually using, contributes another 30%. Then the length of your credit history chips in 15%, while your new credit and credit mix each make up 10%.

Psst, if credit card debt is bumming you out, these debt-slaying tips might help.

This happens because maxing out your card increases your credit utilization — causing lenders to see you as a "riskier" borrower.

As long as you make timely payments and keep your loan in good standing, it could even help your score.