If you’ve ever tried to rent or buy a home, applied for a credit card, or wanted to get a loan, you’ve probably been asked for your credit score. This financial metric evaluates your history of managing your credit balance to help creditors and landlords better understand your value as a consumer. Many major money-related milestones depend on having “good credit,” but what goes into that number is a bit of a mystery. Rather than thinking of your credit score as just the place where an arrow lands on a meter, it’s good to know about all of the factors that go into that calculation.