Your credit report is a record of your credit activity and history. It includes the names of companies that have extended you credit and loans, as well as the credit limits, loan amounts and your payment history. It’s your credit finger print, it tells the story of your financial health and your burring ability to potential lenders.

Your credit scores are contained within your credit report that shows a listing of your credit history. Your credit score represents what’s in the credit report, shown by a number typically between 300 and 850.

How Are Credit Scores Calculated?

• The number of accounts you have
• The types of accounts
• Your used credit vs. your available credit
• The length of your credit history
• Your payment history
• Type of credit used
• Length of credit history
• Hard inquiries

In general, here are the factors considered in credit scoring calculations. Depending on the scoring model used, the weight each factor carries as far as impacting a credit score may vary.

Typically, the negative information on your credit report falls off 7 years after the date of first account delinquency. Bankruptcy information remains on your report for up to 10 years from the date filed, but it can be less depending on the type of bankruptcy. Positive information remains on your report for up to 10 years from the date of last activity on the account. This information applies to installment accounts like mortgages and car loans, which are the types of agreements that have fixed terms on the number of years for repayment.

For revolving accounts, such as credit cards, your positive history will stay on your report for as long as the account is active.