Credit and Debt, Decoded

About this course

Most credit advice is either vague reassurance or sales copy. This course explains the machinery: what a score predicts, why each factor is weighted the way it is, and how interest is calculated day by day on the balance you carry. From there it works through credit cards and the grace period, the true cost of a loan against its monthly payment, the two payoff methods and when each wins, consolidation and how it fails, and the specifics of car loans, mortgages, and student debt. The last section covers reading your credit report, disputing errors for free, and protecting yourself from identity theft. Every rule is worked through with real numbers, including several that contradict widely repeated advice. You will finish with your debts mapped, a payoff order chosen, automatic payments set up, and your credit file checked and frozen.

What you will learn

• Explain what a credit score predicts and why each factor is weighted as it is
• Calculate what a card balance actually costs, including the loss of the grace period
• Compare loans on total cost rather than the monthly payment lenders advertise
• Choose between avalanche and snowball for your specific debts, and know when it barely matters
• Judge a consolidation or balance transfer offer, and recognise how each one fails
• Read your credit report, dispute errors for free, and freeze your file against fraud

Before you begin

• No prior knowledge needed
• Access to your own statements and credit reports for the exercises
• A calculator or spreadsheet