What is a Free Credit Score?

Your free credit score is a number that sums up your current credit rating and announces to lenders how credit-worthy you are. Your credit score is used by everyone from banks to auto dealers to landlords as a way to quickly assess their risk in lending. The credit score scale runs from 349-849 with 723 being the national average. If your score is below 640, you will probably have difficulty finding a good loan. A recent study found most Americans have no idea what their credit score is.