All articles tagged: “Credit Scores”

(133 total)

Blog

7,936 views

3 min read

Opinion: Confessions of a Bad Credit Editor with an 800+ Credit Score

Opinion: Confessions of a Bad Credit Editor with an 800+ Credit Score

The next time you visit the homepage of BadCredit.org, you’ll notice more than just this column. Our team churns out a steady stream of... read more »

By: Adam West • 3/3/25

Blog

11,124 views

3 min read

Opinion: Who’s Afraid of AI? When it Comes to Credit Reporting and Scoring, Not Me 

Opinion: Who's Afraid of AI? When it Comes to Credit Scoring, Not Me

Nerves may be fraying over the rapid rise of the power and influence of artificial intelligence (AI) programs in many industries. Will they help... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 2/17/25

Blog

12,336 views

3 min read

The Competition for Alternative Risk Data: Credit Bureaus Embrace Holistic Assessment

Credit Bureaus Embrace Holistic Assessment

What makes an excellent subprime lending customer? Often, it’s not the consumer’s record of previous credit use because there isn’t one. If there... read more »

By: Mike Senecal • 2/14/25

Blog

17,250 views

5 min read

Check Out This AI-Enabled App If You Need a Boost to Fix Your Credit Score and Achieve Your Financial Goals

An AI Engine That Builds, Fixes, and Monitors Credit Scores

Technology has now gotten us to the point where machines can perform some of our cognitive work. That’s a good thing for busy... read more »

By: Mike Senecal • 1/28/25

Blog

20,664 views

1 min read

ConsumerDirect’s Steve Reger: ‘Banks Can Make Smarter Lending Decisions Based on Your Future Self’

Q&A With Credit Expert Steve Reger from ConsumerDirect

We’ve likely all seen the reports by now. Credit card balances remain sky-high with a reported $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024. For... read more »

By: Adam West • 1/27/25

Guide

37,530 views

9 min read

What is Your Credit Utilization Ratio? Why the Percentage is So Important to Lenders

What is Your Credit Utilization Ratio?

Your credit utilization ratio is an important consideration to lenders, so it is a major factor in your credit scores. Over the years, I have had... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 12/11/24

Guide

34,060 views

9 min read

What is VantageScore? All About the Credit Scoring Model and How it Compares to FICO

What is VantageScore? How the Credit Scoring Model Compares to FICO

Have any of you ever tried figuring credit scores out? Well, sit tight as I get ready to wade into the world of VantageScore — the credit score... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 12/2/24

Guide

38,794 views

11 min read

What is Credit Utilization? A Look at One of the Key Components of Your Credit Score

What is Credit Utilization? How to Manage Your Balances

If you’ve ever gone on a shopping spree, you know how easy it can be to spend more than you planned. Sometimes, I can’t resist going over my... read more »

By: Jon McDonald • 11/27/24

Guide

28,200 views

11 min read

What is FICO? The Influential Credit Scoring Model that Can Determine Your Approval For Financing 

What is FICO and How Does Its Scoring Model Work?

If you’re like me, being judged fairly and objectively is important to you. That includes how a potential lender might assess an application for... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 11/26/24

Blog

21,336 views

5 min read

An App Built on a Foundation of Trust and Dedicated to Putting You in Control of Your Financial Future

An App to Budget, Save, and Control Your Financial Future

H&R Block is one of the most trusted names in the tax industry. Decades of experience have led it to recognize that the future for... read more »

By: Mike Senecal • 11/20/24

Guide

34,365 views

11 min read

What is Subprime Credit? How a Poor Credit Score Complicates Borrowing

What is Subprime Credit? How Lenders View Poor Credit Scores

Subprime refers to a range of credit scores from fair to poor — and even very poor. You don’t just accidentally achieve deep subprime credit... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 11/7/24

Study

28,248 views

3 min read

Survey: 62% of US Adults Believe Improving Their Credit Score Would Boost Their Confidence & Mental Health

62% Believe Improving Credit Scores Would Boost Mental Health

Mental health advocacy and prioritization have taken a front seat in American culture. Bubble baths and deep breathing may come to mind as some... read more »

By: Jon McDonald • 10/31/24

Guide

70,186 views

9 min read

What is Payment History? A Look at the Most Important Metric in Your Credit Score

Payment History: A Guide to the Most Important Credit Score Factor

They say you never get a second chance to make a good first impression but trust me, that’s not true for credit. Even if you’ve had some credit... read more »

By: Mike Senecal • 10/31/24

Guide

40,590 views

9 min read

What is a Credit Score Range? How Scoring Tiers Can Determine Loan and Credit Card Approval

Where Does Your Credit Score Fall in the Credit Score Range?

Home, home on the credit score range, where critters with three digits are busy scurrying around below the cloudless skies. Some aren’t doing so... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 10/23/24

Guide

56,196 views

11 min read

How Length of Credit History Impacts Your Credit Score and Financing Options

How Length of Credit History Impacts Your Credit & Financing Options

I was recently surprised when I learned my credit history wasn’t long enough to get top marks from FICO. I’m well past the spring chicken stage,... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 10/10/24

Guide

41,145 views

11 min read

What is a FICO Score? How the Popular Credit Scoring Model Calculates Your Risk

What is a FICO Score? How the Credit Scoring Model Calculates Risk

FICO is not the name of a dog. That would be Fido. But FICO can be just as loyal and rewarding — if you treat it right. FICO is a credit scoring... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 10/2/24

Guide

44,736 views

13 min read

What is Excellent Credit? How to Reach the Highest Level of the Credit Score Range

What is Excellent Credit? How to Achieve the Highest Credit Scores

I can recall it as if it were yesterday — my grandnephew, Finn, striding into the living room, his face beaming. It was the first day of first... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 10/2/24

Guide

53,124 views

9 min read

What is a Credit Score? How the Number Shows Your Creditworthiness and Impacts Your Lending Options

What is a Credit Score? How the Number Shows Your Creditworthiness

It may seem a bit strange to take your credit history and reduce it to a three-digit number, but that number is your credit score, and it... read more »

By: Erica Sandberg • 9/30/24

Guide

30,684 views

11 min read

What are Credit Score Factors? How They Highlight Your Financial History and Determine Borrowing Risk

Credit Score Factors Highlight Your Financial Habits and History

Your credit score has a huge impact on your financial life. It is like a report card that tells lenders how well you manage loans and credit... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 9/26/24

Study

50,362 views

3 min read

Survey: Nearly 30% of US Adults Don’t Check Their Credit Score Annually   

Nearly 30% of Americans Don’t Check Their Credit Score Annually

Despite inflation, rocket-high interest rates, stagnant wages, and shocking grocery prices, Americans continue to find ways to manage the high... read more »

By: Jon McDonald • 9/26/24

Guide

72,143 views

13 min read

What is a Credit Scoring Model? How Agencies Like FICO and VantageScore Evaluate Creditworthiness

What is a Credit Scoring Model?

When I was a kid, I was always a little anxious when I got my report card. Not that I was a bad student, but the thought of a teacher summing up... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 9/19/24

Guide

45,078 views

7 min read

What is Equifax? How the Credit Bureau Communicates and Calculates Your Credit Risk

What is Equifax? How the Credit Bureau Communicates Risk to Lenders

If you’ve ever had your application for a loan or credit card denied, you may have gotten upset and blamed the lender. After all, your... read more »

By: Andrew Allen • 9/16/24

Guide

92,072 views

11 min read

What Is a Credit Report? How Your Financial History Impacts Future Borrowing

What Is a Credit Report? How Financial History Impacts Future Borrowing

Picture this: Your application for a loan or credit card is flat-out rejected because the lender looked at your credit report. I know rejections... read more »

By: Eric Bank • 8/21/24

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

The Average FICO Score Drops for the First Time in Over a Decade

The Average FICO Score Drops for the First Time in Over a Decade

For at least the last 19 years, the company known as FICO, my former employer and the company that invented credit scores, has published reports... read more »

By: John Ulzheimer • 5/1/24

Guide

100,000+ views

5 min read

25 Fast Facts About Credit Reports & Scores

Fun Facts About Credit Reports and Credit Scores

The world of consumer finance is loaded with data, statistics, trends, acronyms, and averages. It’s truly a numbers-driven industry. As it... read more »

By: John Ulzheimer • 4/16/24