Having good credit is essential in our economy.  Evaluating your credit report is the best way to understand you credit history.  It is all too easy to focus on one metric: your credit score. This three-digit number ranges from 300 to 850. Your credit score is calculated by compiling aspects of your credit report.  For example: 35% comes from your payment history (do you pay your bills on time, all the time?), 30% is based on how much outstanding debt you currently have (the lower this amount is the higher you will be ranked), 15% is dependent on how much credit history you have accrued over time (so try to keep accounts open, especially if you have flawless history), and 10% is derived from how many different types of credit you have (the more variation, the better).