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Mind on My Money:  Black Personal Finance 101

About Your Credit Score

Why Credit Matters
What Is Your Credit Score

You could look at your credit score as a kind of beauty contest for your financial history.  Ranging from 300 (really REALLY ugly) to 850 (Absolutely Stunning) the three digit score generated by your credit file is used by a wide variety of companies to make decisions as to your credit risk and worthiness.

Widely accepted as the industry standard, the FICO Score is the standard tool used by lenders, potential employers and a host of other companies to determine the level of risk they are exposing themselves to if they were to accept you as a customer.  Higher credit scores qualify you for the best interest rates and terms.  Lower credit scores will have you qualified to be shown the express route to the front door.

Who's This FICO Guy, and Why Is He Judging Me

Your FICO score is determined by the Fair Issac Corporation, the company that invented the algorithm that calculates your credit worthiness. 

What's In Your Credit Score


Your Personal Data
  • Your Personal Data
  • Your Name
  • Telephone Number
  • Your Address
  • Your Social Security Number
  • Your Birthdate
  • Your Current Employer
  • Previous Addresses
  • Previous Employers

Your Creditor History
  • A detailed record of your accounts and payments with various financial institutions

  • A record of your balances

  • A Record of your credit limits

  • A record of your debt burden

  • The age of your accounts

Inquiries or Authorized Credit Checks
  • An inquiry for a permissible purpose stays on your report, in most cases, for 24 months
Relevant Public Records and Collections
  • Bankruptcies

  • Judgments

  • Tax liens

  • Collection agency debts
    What's Not In Your Credit Score

  • Your level of education

  • Your medical history

  • Purchases made with cash or check

  • Your gender, national origin, race, or religion

  • Your investments or brokerage accounts

  • Your income

  • Alimony commitments
How Your Score Is Determined
  • 35%.....Payment History Performance

  • 30%.....Level of Indebtedness

  • 15%.....Age of Your Credit History

  • 10% .....Pursuit of New Credit

  • 10%.....Type of Accounts on Your Credit Report (Credit Mix)


next: optimize your credit score

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  • Home
    • About Us: The BlackPrint Statement of Purpose
    • Today in Blackness >
      • May in Blackness
      • Quote of the Day >
        • Quote of the Day March
        • Quote of the Day February
        • Quote of the Day January
        • Quote of the Day December
        • Quote of the Day November
        • Quote of the Day October
        • Quote of the Day September
        • Quote of the Day August
        • Quote of the Day July
        • Quote of the Day June
        • Quote of the Day May
  • Learn To Fish
    • The Case For Black Entreprenuership
    • How to File For A Tax ID Number
    • Getting Organized For Business >
      • Getting Organized For Business 2
    • The Case Against the 40 Hour Workweek
  • Shoulders of Giants
    • Giant: Patrice Lumumba
    • Giant: Nat Turner
    • The Donkey's Sin - Ethiopian Parable
    • Giant: Haile Selassie
    • Giant: Madame CJ Walker
    • Giant: Hannibal Barca
    • Giant: George Washingon Carver
    • Giant: Sojourner Truth
    • Giant: Toussaint L'Ouverture
    • Giant: Harriet Tubman
    • Giant: Huey Newton
    • Giant: Marcus Garvey
  • Mind On My Money
    • 6 Terms to Master Financial Literacy
    • Black Wealth By The Numbers
    • Blackonomics 102: State of The Black Owned Businesses
    • Blackonomics 101: State of the Black Economy
    • 25 Resources For Getting Your Business Off the Ground
    • Black Investing 101: Invest In Stocks For Your Kids
    • How to Introduce Your Child to Money - Infographic
    • Black Investing 101: Invest In Companies You Support
    • Black Personal Finance 101
    • Getting on Track
    • Managing Debt >
      • Addicted To Debt
      • THEY Don't Want You to Know
      • Dirty Little Secrets
      • Your Rights As a Consumer
    • Understanding Credit >
      • Why Credit Matters
      • About Your Credit Score
      • Optimize Your Credit Score
      • By the Numbers
  • Unruly Intellectual Blog