FICO credit scores, the numbers lenders use to assess your credit-worthiness, are dropping in America. One in four Americans now have a credit score below 600.
As CBS’ MoneyWatch points out, this means that more than 43 million people can’t get credit cards, car loans or mortgages under the tighter lending standards at most banks now.
MoneyWatch goes on to explain that if you are not in the market for a big purchase anytime soon, you shouldn’t worry about your FICO score. Instead, just keep paying your bills on time:
“If you do think you’re less than a year from borrowing big, it makes sense to find out your score and improve it, if necessary. Unfortunately, you cannot get your FICO score for free, and that’s the original credit score that most lenders still use. But you can buy it for $16 at MyFico.com. There are also other non-FICO scores that give you a good idea of how you’re doing. For example, you can get a free score at CreditKarma, and use it to monitor your progress. You can also use the free FICO-supplied credit score estimator on Bankrate.com.”
Additional resources from MyFico.com:
