If you’ve heard the term “good credit” but wondered what exactly that means – and how to attain this lofty goal – you’re not alone. Your credit refers to the score lenders use to determine whether you qualify for a loan and how much you qualify for. The FICO system assigns a number, from 300 (extremely poor) to 900 (perfect credit). Most people fall within 550 to 750 points. As the following chart shows, your FICO score depends on five factors: payment history, amount owed, length of credit history, credit history, and types of credit.

Asking for help with debt may hurt your credit score, but doing nothing – or continuing to pay just the monthly minimum – will lead to poor credit, especially if you’re just using one card to pay off another. To improve your credit, you must improve your debt-to-income ratio, and paying off all of your unsecured debt can help. Although Nationwide Asset Services is not in the credit repair business, its plan can help improve your debt-to-income ratio and reclaim your life.