Your credit score is in many ways just as important as your social security number. It represents your overall credit worthiness, it is also the very first and sometimes the only thing creditors look at when considering you for credit. So making sure your score is in the “excellent” bracket will guarantee you approval every time.

You can get your credit score when you request your free credit report, typically it costs a small fee to see your credit score, but it’s an essential part of your credit and worth viewing. If your score is only moderate or borderline good, your 3 in 1 free credit report should provide in great detail what accounts or entries are costing you those valuable points on your credit score.

The basic formula for your overall rating is: past credit + present credit = future credit. Your score is calculated based on the information in your credit report, these are some of the factors that play a role in determining your magic number:

• Your Payment history
• How much of your credit currently being used.
• Overall amount of credit available.
• Total Length of credit history
• Recent request for credit

The last factor used in determining your credit score is comparing the number produced by these factors to those of other consumers with similar credit profiles. Depending on the amount of credit used vs available credit, the score may put more emphasis on those two factors than anything else.

Why is your credit score so elusive?
There are dozens of credit valuing methods, each of the credit bureaus uses their own, and different methods are used for different types of credit. Your credit score is not carved in stone, it is a number that can fluctuate positively as well, with changes to your credit report. You can increase the frequency of your positive entries by staying on top of your credit.

To begin, request a copy of your free credit report and begin analyzing your credit history now, look for and dispute any inaccuracies and pay close attention to your credit score comparing it across the board against all three bureaus.

Practicing this consistently will guarantee you’ll always have your credit available to you when you need it. You can also take advantage of the free credit monitoring trial offers that all the credit bureaus are extending to those who get their credit report directly from them.