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How Credit Affects You
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Additional Resources
Module 2
How Credit Affects You
Credit Reports and Credit Score
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Factors That Affect Your FICO Credit Score

The Five CategoriesAccording to myfico.com, there are five categories that affect your FICO credit score:
  • Payment History — represents 35% of your score and includes account payment information, the presence of adverse public records such as bankruptcy and loan amounts that are past due.

  • Amount of Debt — represents 30% of your score and includes how much you owe, the number of accounts with balances and the proportion of balances to total credit limits.

  • Length of Credit History — represents 15% of your score and considers the amount of time since accounts were opened and the time elapsed since your last account activity.

  • Types of Credit — represents 10% of your score and includes the number and types of accounts that you have open (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer finance accounts, etc.)

  • New Credit — represents 10% of your score and includes the number of recently opened accounts and the number of recent credit inquiries.

Helpful Links

Sites with More InformationTo learn more about credit reports and scores, visit the following sites:

Equifax
Experian
FICO
National Foundation for Credit Counseling
TransUnion

These helpful links are also available in the Resources area.

Next Step
To review steps you can take to improve your credit, continue to Improving Your Credit.

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