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HomePersonal FinanceYou Might Know More than You Think About Your Credit Score

You Might Know More than You Think About Your Credit Score

When icount surveyed 1000 regular adults in the UK, they didn’t know if these folks would understand much about their own credit scores. And if you asked the people themselves, their answers didn’t exactly inspire confidence. When asked “Do You Think You Understand Your Credit Rating?,” 25.6% responded “No, Not at All”, and 47.6% said “Yes, in Some Ways.” That’s nearly three quarters of those surveyed expressing a somewhat tenuous comprehension of this vital piece of credit knowledge. But, when pressed, a lot of these people seemed to know a little more than they thought they did.

74.8% of people thought that past debts and bankruptcies had more to do with a low credit score than any other factor, which is true. Most (64.1%) understood that reliably paying off credit accounts was another major factor. Again, true. There were some other, more nuanced, criteria which seemed to be a little more confusing,however. These included “Credit Searches” (important to only 47% of people), Usage of Available Credit Limit (33.9%), and Financially Linked Dependents (34.6%). 8.6% panicked like deer in headlights and simply said “I don’t know,” then presumably went and played a credit card operated slot machine.

Understanding credit is important. Having good credit will determine, to a large extent, whether or not you will be able to borrow money for a car or a house. It also determines how much you’ll be charged for the borrowing of this money (fees and interest). While many people don’t have a ground-up knowledge of credit score influencers, this is knowledge that isn’t that hard to acquire or understand. If you count yourself among the 75% (or so) of respondents who don’t know about credit scores or don’t know much, spend a little time learning about the subject today.

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