So, what is a FICO Score? It’s a number that is formulated based on your credit history helping lenders evaluate your credit risk. Your FICO Score is used to determine credit offers and interest rates — and now it’s free for you to view.

There are many misconceptions about credit scores out there. Every time you apply for credit, apply for a job that requires you to handle money, or even apply for some apartment living, your credit score it checked.

Everyone knows the value of having a good credit score — apply for mortgages or credit cards and get the lowest interest rate possible because you have a 721 FICO Score. There are also a lot of Americans, especially in today’s economic times, who know how difficult it is to even qualify for those same mortgages and credit cards with a 521 FICO Score.

Just because you settled with a car loan company after a car repossession, that doesn’t mean that they have to remove it from your Equifax, Experian or TransUnion reports.