Session 1 · Free, in full

The number that prices your life.

Four segments, about an hour. By the end you will know your own score, what it costs you in real dollars, and the one thing to do this week.

Who has the higher credit score: someone with $80,000 saved and no debt, or someone with $2,000 saved who has paid off two car loans?

Pick one. No sign-up, no catch.

1.1What a credit score actually is

Coming soon

“What a credit score actually is” is still being recorded. About 14 minutes when it lands.

Session 1, segment 1 of 4 · 14 min

Where the bureaus came from, why your score differs between the dealer and the bank, and why it is really a debt score, not a wealth score.

1.2The five factors

Coming soon

“The five factors” is still being recorded. About 15 minutes when it lands.

Session 1, segment 2 of 4 · 15 min

Two of them are 65% of your score, and both are things you control starting this week. Plus the rule nobody tells you about.

1.3What it actually costs you

Coming soon

“What it actually costs you” is still being recorded. About 16 minutes when it lands.

Session 1, segment 3 of 4 · 16 min

The same credit card, the same car, the same house, priced for two different people. The third one is the number you will remember.

1.4Pull your report

Coming soon

“Pull your report” is still being recorded. About 12 minutes when it lands.

Session 1, segment 4 of 4 · 12 min

The only government-authorized site, the mistakes that cost you your free annual pull, and what to do about an error.

Check yourself · Credit Score

6 questions, about 4 minutes. The last few are about you, not a test. Nothing there is wrong, and what you put in shapes your own scenario at the end.

1What is the standard FICO range?
2Which two factors make up 65% of your score? *(select two)*
3You have a card with a $1,000 limit. What's the most you should carry in a month?
4True or false: you must carry a balance to build credit.
5Checking your own score is a ______ inquiry and ______ affect your score.
6Sean says you really only need a credit score for a small number of purchases. Name one, and say why the score matters so much there.

About you

Not graded. Skip anything you would rather not say.

Do you currently have a credit score?
Do you have a credit card?
Sign in first if you want this saved.

Do this week

  1. Pull your report at annualcreditreport.com, on a laptop, not a phone
  2. Open a card with no annual fee and a limit under $1,000
  3. Put one small recurring thing on it
  4. Set autopay to the full balance, not the minimum
  5. Never use more than 30% of the limit

Get the rest of the course

Sessions 2 through 9 are on the way. We'll tell you when.