MONEY 5 THINGS CREDIT SCORE EXPERTS WANT YOU TO KNOW

For one, the so-called perfect target number doesn't really need to be the goal. Also: Credit card limits are kinda tricky!

- MELISSA MATTHEWS

IN THE UNITED STATES, the land of credit, the importance of a solid credit score is drilled into our heads. Yet most of us don't know much about how it's calculated, how to boost it, or what it can mean for our financial future. That's really not our fault, though. This kind of information can be hard to find, and once we get it, the content can be overly complicated or flat-out wrong, says Beverly Harzog, a financial journalist and the author of The Debt Escape Plan. "Understanding credit scores doesn't have anything to do with your intelligence level," she adds. So we broke some key things down for you here, in easy-to-understand language. Take it to the bank!

FICO Isn't the Only Name in the Game

The acronym stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, a company that generates scores (based on information in credit reports) to help banks and lenders predict whether you'll make good on your debt. While your FICO score is used by the majority of creditors, there are other companies out thereVantageScore is a popular one. Banks sometimes develop their own ranking systems as well. That's why you can check your score with FICO, a service like Credit Karma, and your bank and get three different numbers.