What’s Your Number? 5 Financial Figures You Need to Know
When we talk about personal finance, we toss around a lot of terns: APRs, credit scores, mortgage principals… you get the idea. It’s easy to get lost in all these numbers, so we’re here to break it down for you.
These five may be the most important. They’re the difference between a healthy bank account and debt collectors knocking at your door.
1. Your credit score. This may be the most important number ever attached to your name. Your credit score decides your approval for a mortgage or auto loan; it also plays a role in what credit card offers you qualify for. It influences your interest rates on loans, too, and much more. Moreover, many employers evaluate an applicant’s score during the hiring process.
To build a high score, you have to be a responsible borrower. That job is a little more complex than it might sound, so we’ll start at the beginning: Pay your credit card bills on time and in full.
Once you’ve got that down, another way to boost your credit score is to take out different types of loans to impress lenders. Their thinking is: If you can handle such responsibilities, you’re creditworthy.
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