A three-digit number that sums up how reliably you've borrowed and repaid money in the past.
A credit score is a number, typically ranging from around 300 to 850 in the US, that summarizes how reliably someone has borrowed and repaid money in the past: on-time payments, how much debt they're carrying relative to their limits, and how long they've had credit, among other factors. Lenders use it to decide whether to approve a loan and what interest rate to charge, so a higher score can mean thousands of dollars saved over the life of a mortgage or car loan. It's one of the more consequential numbers in a person's financial life that most people rarely think about until they need to borrow.
Part of the Open Bell Glossary — plain-English explanations of the terms that come up on the show. Browse every term.