# FICO Score

A FICO score is the most widely used credit scoring model, created by Fair Isaac Corporation. It ranges from 300 to 850 and is used by 90% of top U.S. lenders to make credit decisions.

## Why it matters

While "credit score" is a general term, FICO is the specific model most lenders actually use. Your FICO score is built from five weighted factors: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%), and credit mix (10%). Understanding these weights tells you exactly where to focus improvement efforts.

Example

A FICO score of 740+ is generally considered "very good" and qualifies you for the best interest rates. Below 670 is considered "fair" and significantly increases borrowing costs.

## How Ray helps

Ray monitors the financial behaviors that feed into your FICO score, especially credit utilization and payment patterns. Ask to check utilization, the second-biggest FICO factor.

Terminal

`$ ray "what percentage of my credit limit am I using?"`

## Related terms

- [Credit Score](/content/learn/credit-score/index.html): A credit score is a three-digit number (typically 300-850) that represents your creditworthiness based on your borrowing and repayment history.
- [Debt-to-Income Ratio](/content/learn/debt-to-income-ratio/index.html): Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares your total monthly debt payments to your gross monthly income, expressed as a percentage.
- [APR (Annual Percentage Rate)](/content/learn/apr/index.html): APR is the yearly cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage.
- [Mortgage](/content/learn/mortgage/index.html): A mortgage is a loan used to purchase real estate, where the property itself serves as collateral.
- [Liquidity](/content/learn/liquidity/index.html): Liquidity refers to how quickly and easily you can convert an asset to cash without significant loss in value.

## Try Ray free

Open source, local-first, and takes five minutes to set up.

`$npm install -g ray-finance`  [View on GitHub](https://github.com/cdinnison/ray-finance)