Your credit score affects you more than you think — especially when it's time to get approved on exciting life milestones, like buying a car or home. Lenders look at your score to determine your creditworthiness, or how good you are at handling your financial obligations. It’s how they determine how big a mortgage or loan (or how high a credit card limit) to offer you and at what interest rate. Having a low score could result in getting approved at higher interest rates — or even being declined. Many landlords look at your score when considering renting to you, and some employers are even requesting info on your credit score before making you a job offer. A few different factors make up your score, with payment history, utilization ratio, and length of credit topping the list, followed by types of credit and inquiries. Whether your score is stellar or needs some TLC, there are some easy ways to improve it and ultimately rule it. Here are 3 ways to get you started:  Nail your utilization ratio Your utilization ratio is how much of your available credit you’re using, or your level of indebtedness.