Understand Your Credit. Control Your Future.
Knowledge is the most powerful credit tool there is. Here's the foundation every consumer should know.
What Is a Credit Score?
- Payment History35%
- Credit Utilization30%
- Length of Credit History15%
- Credit Mix10%
- New Credit10%
Understanding Your Credit Report
Equifax
Tracks accounts, balances, payment history, public records. Used by many mortgage lenders.
Experian
The largest U.S. bureau by data coverage. Frequently used by auto and credit-card issuers.
TransUnion
Strong in employment and rental data. Widely used by personal-loan and auto lenders.
All three bureaus matter — different lenders pull different reports.
Common Credit Mistakes (and How to Fix Them).
High utilization
Keep balances below 30% — ideally below 10%.
Late payments
Set autopay on every account for at least the minimum.
Closing old accounts
Keep your oldest cards open — length of history matters.
Too many hard inquiries
Space credit applications at least 6 months apart.
No credit mix
A blend of revolving and installment credit improves scoring.
Co-signing recklessly
You inherit the risk. Only co-sign if you can pay it yourself.
Your Rights Under the FCRA.
- Free access to your credit reports
- Dispute inaccurate or incomplete information
- Demand verification of disputed items
- Sue creditors and bureaus for FCRA violations
- Place fraud alerts and credit freezes
- Be notified of negative actions taken against you
Learn more directly from the FTC at ftc.gov.