Understanding Your Credit Scores

As young people begin to create their credit history, it’s easy for a lack of knowledge and experience to create long-term financial detriments. The mindset of ‘buy now, pay later’ can be addictive for youths, and influence their financial trajectory for years to come. By learning how credit scores work, and the various factors that are used to calculate them, young people can empower themselves to make better financial decisions.

Credit scores are an area of personal finance that seem a lot more mysterious than they actually are. Many people believe that improving them is a matter of trial and error and, as a result, there’s a lot of “credit score advice” floating around that can end up doing more harm than good.

You’ve likely heard about credit scores before (thanks to all those commercials with terrible jingles), but what do you actually know about them? How long have they been around? And what’s the deal with checking them?

Fox Communities Credit Union is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution serving members throughout Eastern Wisconsin, including Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Manitowoc, and Milwaukee.