Everyone has heard the word “credit score”. It’s a three-digit number determined by your credit history. It tells the lender how well you managed your past credit and predicts your future credit. Your credit score can affect your ability to buy a home, get a new car, and in some cases secure a job.But do you really understand how Various factors that affect your credit work or your score? Here are some insights you may not know about your credit: That “free” credit score may not be the FICO score. There are some free tools that can give you some thoughts on what your credit score is. Companies like Credit Karma offer alternative scores called Vantage Scores. This is usually free with a financial services subscription.However According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, This alternative or “educational” score is not the same as the FICO score. In fact, it is usually not used by lenders to make credit decisions. There are 65 actual models of credit scoring that financial institutions can choose for lending. Therefore, if you request a score from a free service, please be aware that it can be several points higher or lower than the FICO credit score obtained by the lender. You need to understand credit usage. Credit usage is the ratio of your credit card balance to your credit limit. To calculate your credit usage, divide your credit card balance by your credit card limit and multiply by 100. For example, if your credit card limit is $ 25,000 and your balance is $ 1,000, your card usage is 4%. The lower the usage rate, the better. This means that you are using only a small portion of the credit lent to you. High credit usage can damage your score as it indicates that you are overextended or at risk of delaying payments. As a rule of thumb, keep your credit usage below 30% to maintain a healthy score. Know what affects your credit score and what doesn’t. Scores are based on five key factors: payment history (35%), credit usage (30%), credit history length (15%), new credits (10%), and credit mix (10%). Is calculated. This means that payment failures, credit card limits, and multiple new credit accounts opened in a short period of time can be a major issue for your score. Some have no effect on the score. For example, getting your own credit report is considered a “soft query” and has no effect on your score. Utility bills, mobile invoices, cables, bank accounts and medical bills are not reported to the credit bureau and do not directly affect your score. That is, unless it is delinquent and reported to the collection. At Telhio Credit Union, we are in the credit business and our financial needs are our top priority. For more information on Telhio, please visit: telhio.org.. this is Multi-part sponsor series Presented paid support Telhio Credit Union.. Telhio Credit Union Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Franklin, Fairfield, Delaware, Ricking, Madison, Pickaway, Union, Hamilton, Warren, Butler and Preble counties is open to attend. Founded in 1934, Telhio is a non-profit financial cooperative originally founded as a credit union of Columbus Telephone Co., of which its members are also its owners. Telhio is committed to the highest standards of responsibility and action, based on the philosophy that members come first. Telhio offers a variety of innovative programs, services and products to support the financial needs of its members. Telhio has nine branch offices in central and southwestern Ohio, sharing nearly 4,000 branches nationwide. It is federally insured by the NCUA. Equal home lender. NMLS # 251831