What is a Credit Score?

While you may not need your credit score when you work with 800loanmart lending services or other lenders, it is still wise to know how it works. After all, some lenders will check it before approving you for a loan. Your credit score is simply a number that is representative of what your borrowing history has looked like in the past. This number can go up or down depending on the choices that you make.

For every negative mark on your record, your score drops. A negative mark could be something as simple as not paying off your credit card on time or as major as not paying back your car loan and having your car repossessed by the bank. The closer your score gets to zero, the harder it is to get a loan. The lenders who check know that this low score makes you a higher risk.

If you have debt that you take care of properly, your score can go up again. This is often why people have credit cards in the first place. Every purchase that they make and then pay off helps them with their credit score.

However, some lenders know how a credit score can stick with someone for years, even if their financial situation has changes drastically over that time. This is why not all lenders will ask for it. Some are more interested in seeing what you can afford to pay off at the time than what you may have done in the past.