I’m relatively new to personal finance, so I was wondering how I can find out my credit score? I’ve heard of FICO and VantageScore, what’s the difference between the two and which is more useful?
Your credit score is a three-digit number that sums up the information in your credit report. Most, if not all, lenders use this metric as a way to determine your credit health. Credit scores are calculated from information in the credit report, which includes loan payment history and credit card balances. These credit scores were designed to predict the likelihood that you can meet your payment obligations. It is important to note that you are not assigned one credit score. We all have multiple credit scores that are slightly different because there are multiple credit bureaus, who each have slightly different scoring methodologies. There are many different scoring models, and as you rightfully pointed out, the two most commonly known scores are FICO Score and VantageScore. They are both equally useful and the way that they are calculated are slightly different. Nonetheless, both FICO Scores and VantageScores range from 300 to 850 and employ five factors into their scoring models, including payment history, credit utilization, average age of accounts, types of credit in use, and new credit.