Understanding Your Credit Score
This 3-digit number shows how trustworthy you are with borrowing money.
What is a credit score?
If you don’t pay your credit card in full, you get charged this extra money.
What is interest?
Money you owe to a person, bank, or company.
What is debt?
Landlords check your credit before you can do this.
What is rent an apartment?
Paying bills on time builds a good credit ______.
What is history?
This is the most common credit score range used by lenders.
lenders.What is 300–850?
The most you’re allowed to spend on a credit card.
What is a credit limit?
This financial habit involves creating a plan for your income and expenses, helping you avoid overspending and stay out of debt.
What is budgeting?
A bad credit score makes this cost more when you borrow money.
What are interest rates?
You can get one free copy each year of this document that shows your accounts.
What is a credit report?
The biggest factor in your credit score is paying these on time.
What are your bills/payments?
Paying only this small amount can trap you in long-term debt.
What is the minimum payment?
This special savings helps you avoid debt when something unexpected happens.
What is an emergency fund?
Some employers check your credit to see if you are ______.
What is responsible/trustworthy?
When someone steals your personal information to open accounts, it’s called this.
What is identity theft?
This is the biggest factor that affects your credit score.
What is on-time payment history?
Before using a credit card, you should ask yourself this question: “Can I ______ it?”
What is afford?
When you keep swiping a card without checking your balance, you are doing this dangerous habit.
What is overspending?
You usually need good credit to buy this big purchase in adulthood.
What is a house/car?
If you pay late, this fee gets added to your bill and can hurt your credit.
What is a late fee?
This term describes the amount you owe compared to your credit limit, and keeping it under 30% boosts your score.
What is credit utilization?
This number (shown as a %) shows how expensive borrowing is for a whole year.
What is APR (Annual Percentage Rate)?
This type of purchase—buying something just because you “want it now”—can lead to fast debt.
What is impulse buying?
Good credit saves you money over time, helping you build this.
What is wealth?
This alerts you when someone tries to open a new account in your name.
What is a fraud alert?