Building Credit

• Building Credit Overview
• Building Credit: True or False Game
• How Do Credit Scores Work?
• Why You Need Good Credit
• How and When to Check My Credit Score
• What If there Is an Error on My Credit Report?
• What Is Credit? Lesson
• Buy Now, Pay Later
• Choosing the Best Credit Card for You

Learning how to build and manage credit is important for people of all ages. Having good credit can help you get a much-needed loan or purchase the items you want and need, such as a reliable vehicle or a new home. Our FinancialFit lessons teach you all you need to know about building and maintaining a good credit score.

Credit represents your ability to pay lenders back when you borrow money through cash loans or credit cards. Before they give you these funds, local banks, credit unions, and other institutions will assess your credit history to determine the likelihood of you paying them back on time. Depending on what they find, they will either approve or deny your loan or credit card application.

To improve your chances of getting larger loans and higher credit limits at better interest rates, you need to build and maintain a decent credit score. Scores fall on a scale between 300 and 850, and having a higher score shows creditors that you have a history of managing your money responsibly. As a result, they're usually more willing to lend you money when you need it.

FinancialFit offers lessons on how to build, manage, and maintain your credit so you can afford purchases that would otherwise be outside of your budget. Our learning modules share financial planning and credit-building suggestions to help you understand:

• How credit scores work
• Where and when to check your credit score
• What credit report errors are and how to fix them
• How to use a credit card
• How to pay off debt and build credit