Vikki Frank: Hi, my name is Vikki Frank and I am the Executive Director of Credit Builders Alliance. We are a new non-profit that supports community based organizations throughout the country, supporting their customers and consumers on building credit.
This is a part of the video on “How to get out of debt”, and this segment, we will talk about what are credit scores and credit reports, how to access and obtain your credit reports and credit scores, and what information is in credit reports and credit scores.
Host: What is a credit score?
Vikki Frank: When most of us think of a score, we think of a FICO score. FICO was created by a company called Fair Isaac, and they are the credit scores used by most lenders in this country. FICO scores range from 350-800 with a score above 650 generally, being considered a good score.
However, FICO is not the only score out there. In fact, there are thousands of scores, but what makes scores a score? A score is a snapshot of your creditworthiness at a time.
It is a numerical number that comes out of a complex mathematical out result and I know that most of us would really like to understand what that out rhythm is.
So, I like to think about it as a diet. I do not know how my body responds to carbohydrates or proteins, but I know if I have the behavior change in which I am exercising regularly, eating healthy and not eating too much, and then I am going to probably lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle and a good weight. And it is the same thing with a credit score.
I know that if I maintain good financial behaviors in terms of paying back my bills on time, not going into more debt than I can afford to pay off and generally, managing my money well then I can build and maintain a good credit score over the long run.