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The average Joe and Jane with excellent credit has a sky-high Credit Karma credit score of 720 or higher. Lenders and issuers treat these consumers as the cream of the crop—premium rates, access to best financing options and offers, approval on almost all credit cards, and extra leverage when negotiating terms.

Joe and Jane are the best kind of customers, so lenders and issuers will go extra lengths to get and keep their business. An excellent credit score reflects a very healthy credit report, which may be checked by potential employers, landlords, utility providers, cell phone providers, and more.

32% of Credit Karma consumers fall in the excellent credit range of 720 and above, and less than one percent have a credit score above 800. If you fit this credit profile, congratulations! You’ve achieved elite credit-score status, so you must be credit-conscious, vigilant, and alert to keep it that way.

Excellent credit consumers can lose their top-notch credit due to careless mistakes. The

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[Disclaimer: Reading this post will not automatically improve your credit score—we aren’t miracle workers here. But reading this post will arm you with the knowledge it takes to manage your credit score responsibly. The rest is up to you.]

You may have heard the bad news: Millions of Americans are seeing their credit score sink to new lows. The Associated Press reports that 25.5% of consumers, about 43.4 million, have a credit score of 599 below. These consumers are dubbed “poor credit” borrowers, seen as high-risk borrowers who will find it increasingly difficult to borrow credit.

But it isn’t hopeless for those 43.4 million consumers– or you—to build a great credit score.

Oftentimes, many consumers find it difficult to improve their credit because they don’t quite know how credit scores work in the first place. Just browse the

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It’s a love-hate relationship. When debt crops up on your credit report, good debt management can contribute to a great credit score… or mishandled debt can also damage your credit score.

If you are a credit-savvy consumer, you know that total debt is one of the key financial components that go into calculating your credit score. While debt isn’t necessary to a good credit score, having credit is necessary, and borrowing any kind of credit–whether its a credit card or a mortgage–can potentially accumulate debt. Ultimately, it is how you deal with your debt that lenders consider as a reflection of your creditworthiness.

Here are a few tidbits on the love-hate relationship of your debt and your credit score.

1. More debt isn’t always a bad thing. Not kidding. Good credit habits include minimizing revolving debt, such as credit card bills that you should pay off each month, while balancing installment debt, such as student loans or mortgages that keep you in debt for years. Also, havin

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As we celebrate America’s Independence Day, why not start working on your own financial independence by better managing your credit score. In working towards financial independence, your credit score is a crucial initial step to better financial health, as well as something that stays with you throughout your entire life.

Since credit scores are calculated from your credit report, it’s a good and accurate snapshot of your general financial health. How does credit score = financial independence? In a nutshell, your credit score is your key to having financial options. The higher your credit score, the more doors it opens. Credit scores impact almost every financial product, specifically approval for credit cards, ability to borrow money, and interest rates offered by lenders.

Everyone’s path to financial independence will vary, but addressing the five main components of a credit score is a foundation you need to build:

1. Credit Card Utilization. This

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