What you need to know about credit scores

The unseen rules of personal finance

Your credit score can play a major role in your financial life, influencing anything from loan approval to the interest rates a bank may offer you. But what factors determine this number, and why does it carry so much weight?

Credit scores are widely used in countries such as the United States, although many other regions assess financial trustworthiness in very different ways. This gallery explores the habits that can help raise your score, the missteps that can hurt it, and how credit scoring works in different parts of the world. Read on to learn more.