This has become less “strange” in recent years, but closing your credit cards can hurt your score.

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A good FICO score is one that exceeds 700. Any amount above that number is generally sufficient to qualify for the lowest available rates on most types of loans, but it is not a one way ticket to being able to take out extraordinarily large loans-your income will have a more significant effect on that.

The only thing worse than getting a nasty surprise is getting a nasty surprise about your finances. For instance, you check your credit score and discover it’s much lower than you anticipated. You wonder, “What went wrong?”

A credit score is either a blessing or a curse cast down upon you from the digital cloud. A score of 740 qualifies you for the best interest rate on a conventional mortgage. A score under 640 means ugly interest, and a number under 620 makes it very hard to get a mortgage at all.