Credit 101
The basics, in plain English: how credit scores, reports, and the three bureaus actually work.
How to read your credit report without the overwhelm
A credit report is just a record of how you've used credit: who you owe, whether you pay on time, and a few facts about you. It looks intimidating because it's dense, not because it's complicated.
3 min read
The three bureaus, and why your reports disagree
You don't have one credit report. You have three (one each from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), and they often don't match. That's normal, and it's a big reason an error can hide in plain sight.
3 min read
How a credit score actually works
A credit score is a snapshot of how risky you look to a lender, built from what's on your credit report. It's not a mystery and it's not a judgment of you as a person; it's a few specific things, weighted.
5 min read
What's a good credit score? (And what's average in America)
The average U.S. FICO Score was 714 as of FICO's March 2026 report, and "good" officially starts at 670. But lenders don't grade you against the average; they use cutoffs, and rate improvements tend to flatten in the upper score tiers (though the exact cutoff varies by lender and loan).
4 min read
FICO vs. VantageScore: does it matter which you track?
People love to say VantageScore is worthless because lenders use FICO. That's a major oversimplification. The scores are highly correlated — and for improving your credit, tracking either is fine.
6 min read
What actually hurts your credit score? (And what doesn't)
Only a handful of things actually move your credit score: whether you pay on time, how much of your credit limits you're using, how long you've had credit, how recently you've applied for new credit, and your mix of account types. For standard FICO scores, those are the major categories.
5 min read
What is a soft credit check? Soft pull vs. hard pull
A soft credit check is a look at your credit that isn't tied to an application, and it doesn't affect your score. A hard check happens when you apply for new credit, and it usually costs fewer than five points, fading over the 12 months FICO counts it.
6 min read
Will rate shopping hurt my credit scores?
Rate shopping barely affects your scores, and it costs you far less than not shopping does. When you compare offers on the same loan inside the shopping window, scoring models count the inquiries as one. FICO allows 14 or 45 days depending on the version; VantageScore uses a 14-day rolling window.
7 min read
Credit terms, translated: a plain-English glossary
Credit has its own vocabulary, and most of it was written by lenders, for lenders, which is why so many terms sound like accusations. This glossary translates them into plain English.
8 min read
Why credit advice that worked for someone else might not work for you
Credit advice depends on why your score is what it is, and that varies enormously. The move that gains one person 40 points does nothing for another.
4 min read
What happens if a payment fails? (NSF, fees, and your credit)
A failed payment does not directly hurt your credit score; banks don't report failed payments to the credit bureaus. What matters is what happens next: a bill that stays unpaid for 30 or more days can be reported as late.
3 min read
Does buy now, pay later affect your credit score? (Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay)
It depends on which service you use, and the honest answer is that the rules are changing right now. As of mid-2026, Affirm reports its loans to credit bureaus, while Klarna and Afterpay generally don't report your payments to U.S. bureaus at all.
4 min read
Does medical debt affect your credit score? (2026 rules, plainly)
Medical debt affects your credit less than it used to, and less than most people fear. Paid medical collections don't appear on credit reports at all, and unpaid bills get a 12-month grace period before they can show up.
5 min read
How collections work (and what to do about one)
A collection is an unpaid debt that's been handed off to a collection agency, and it can land on your credit report. Here's how a debt gets there, what your rights are, and what actually helps.
5 min read