In short
- Base FICO scores run from 300 to 850. Payment history (35%) and how much of your limit you use (30%) make up most of the score.
- To build credit from nothing: one card, one small recurring bill on it, paid in full and on time every month by autopay.
- Check your reports from all three bureaus free, every week, at AnnualCreditReport.com. Never carry a balance to "build credit": it costs interest and doesn't help the score.
Your credit score decides what you pay to borrow, and sometimes whether you can rent the apartment at all. For a newly married couple it can mean the difference of hundreds of dollars a month on a mortgage. It's built slowly, by habits that cost nothing.
What a credit score is
A credit score is a three-digit number that estimates how likely you are to repay what you borrow. It's calculated from your credit reports, the records the three bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) keep about your loans and cards.
The score most lenders use is the FICO score. Base FICO scores range from 300 to 850, and FICO groups them like this:
| FICO score | FICO's label |
|---|---|
| Below 580 | Poor |
| 580 to 669 | Fair |
| 670 to 739 | Good |
| 740 to 799 | Very good |
| 800 and above | Exceptional |
VantageScore, a competing model, also uses a 300 to 850 range. You'll see slightly different numbers from different apps and lenders because they use different models and different bureaus' data. That's normal.
What goes into the score
FICO publishes the weight of each factor for the general population:
| Factor | Weight | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Payment history | 35% | Pay every bill on time. One payment 30 or more days late can stay on your report for years. |
| Amounts owed | 30% | Use a small share of your limits. A $600 balance on a $5,000 limit is 12%. |
| Length of credit history | 15% | Keep your oldest no-fee card open, even if you rarely use it. |
| New credit | 10% | Apply only for credit you need. Several applications in a short time can lower the score. |
| Credit mix | 10% | Having both cards and loans helps a little. Never borrow just for the mix. |
Your income, savings, job and age are not part of the score.
Building credit from nothing
Most people starting out, after yeshiva, seminary or a year in Israel, have no credit history at all. That isn't bad credit; it's no file. Some ways to start one:
- A secured card. You put down a deposit, often a few hundred dollars, which becomes your limit. It reports to the bureaus like any card. After a year of on-time payments, many issuers return the deposit and convert it to a regular card.
- A student or starter card from the bank where you already have checking.
- Becoming an authorized user on a parent's long-standing card with a perfect record. Their history may appear on your report. Only do this if their record really is clean.
- A credit-builder loan from a credit union. The loan sits in savings while you repay it, then it's released to you.
Then the habit: put one small, predictable bill on the card, such as your phone, set autopay for the full statement balance, and don't touch it otherwise. After six months or so of reported activity you'll typically have a score.
What card interest really costs
Carrying a balance doesn't raise your score. It just costs money. Here's a $3,000 balance at 24% APR, with no new charges:
| Monthly payment | Months to clear | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|
| $90 | 56 | about $1,990 |
| $150 | 26 | about $870 |
| $300 | 12 | about $380 |
Our calculation, with interest charged monthly at 24% รท 12. Paying $90 a month, close to a typical minimum on this balance, costs more than five times the interest of paying $300.
Credit card costMonths and interest at the minimum versus a fixed payment, and the payment that clears it in a year.Check your reports
You can get your credit reports from all three bureaus free, every week, at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site the government authorizes for this. Checking your own report never lowers your score.
Look for accounts you don't recognize, late payments you made on time, and wrong names or addresses. You can dispute errors directly with the bureau. Under federal law, most negative information can be reported for seven years, and bankruptcies for up to ten.
If you're not planning to borrow soon, consider freezing your credit at each bureau. A freeze is free and stops anyone opening new credit in your name. You can lift it in minutes when you need to apply.
Cards, simchas and Yom Tov
Wedding season, Pesach and the Yamim Noraim are when balances creep up. A few habits help:
- Save for the season in advance in your budget, so the card is a way to pay, not a loan.
- If you put a big cost like a simcha deposit on a card, pay it before the statement closes. Your reported balance is usually the statement balance, so paying early keeps your utilization low.
- Don't co-sign for anyone unless you're ready to pay the whole debt yourself. Their late payments become yours.
If a card is lost or stolen, federal law caps what you owe for unauthorized charges at $50, and most issuers waive even that. Report it quickly.
Recovering from a mistake
If you missed a payment, pay it now and set autopay so it can't happen again. If it was a one-time slip with a long clean record, call the issuer and ask whether it will remove the late mark as a goodwill gesture. Some will. Late payments weigh less as they age and as on-time months pile up on top of them.
Next steps
- Pull your three reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and check them.
- If you have no file, open a secured or starter card and put one bill on autopay.
- If you carry a balance, see what a fixed payment would save with the Credit card cost tool.
- Make sure the card fits your budget, not the other way round.
Sources
- myFICO, What is a FICO score: 300 to 850 range and FICO's five score bands.
- myFICO, What's in your credit score: the five factor weights.
- VantageScore, The complete guide to your VantageScore: 300 to 850 range.
- FTC, Free credit reports: weekly free reports from all three bureaus, made permanent.
- CFPB, How long does information stay on my credit report.
- CFPB, Unauthorized charges on a lost or stolen credit card: $50 maximum.
Figures checked November 2026. The interest table is our illustration. This guide is general education, not financial advice; ask a qualified professional about your own situation.