FHA has a two-tier credit score system for insuring loans. First-tier loans require a minimum down payment of 3.5 percent, while second-tier loans require at least 10 percent. The first tier includes those with FICO scores of 580 or above, while the second tier includes those between 500 and 579. FHA does not insure loans with anything below a 500 credit score.

Credit Sesame is a Website that helps people manage their credit — its offering users free credit monitoring, a service that the big three credit bureaus offer for a fee. However, Credit Sesame monitors information from a single credit bureau — Experian.

If you’ve ever tried to get your credit score for free, you know that there’s no such thing as a truly free credit score. You’re forced to enter your credit card information and sign up for a free trial of a service, just so you can forget to cancel and get charged for a service you don’t want. Though you can get a free credit report easily with no credit card, one popular website, Credit Karma, allows you to retrieve your credit score without providing any payment information.

About a year ago, a few credit card issuers began sharing FICO Scores or VantageScores with their customers as part of their monthly statements. As competition heats up, more credit card issuers are now offering customers’ credit scores for free.

Black Friday has become known for terrific sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. If you visit some stores this Black Friday, a store clerk will likely ask you, “Would you like to save X% by opening a credit card account?”