You’ve probably heard it before: A strong credit score can save you a lot of money and hassle over time.

But in the bustle of daily life, it’s easy not to think about that three-digit number, let alone make it a priority to raise it or keep it high.

So we’ve got some stats to inspire you:

In a recent survey from Marist Poll and Yahoo Finance, 42% of Americans said their credit score helped them achieve their financial goals during the past year, while 19% said it hurt them. A higher credit score tends to make it easier to borrow money and get lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages. Even insurance premiums may be lower.

Let’s say you were taking out a five-year $45,000 loan to buy a new car, putting 10% down. Boosting your FICO score to 720 from 620 would save you an estimated $127/month in interest — more than $7,600 over the five years, according to FICO®. That’s almost half the total interest.

Or you’re buying a house with a $400,000 30-year mortgage and a 20% down payment. A score of 760 rather than 680 could shave an estimated $101/month in interest, and more than $36,000 overall. (Use this FICO calculator to see how other scores could impact the interest you pay.)

In fact, a recent Bankrate study found that borrowers with a credit score of 620 versus 700 pay an average of roughly $3,400 more each year for essential financial products.

So what? Credit scores matter (so much so that people are even posting screenshots of their FICO scores to Tinder.) Whether your score is where you want it to be or not, good credit habits can make a big difference to your bottom line. Here’s how to develop them:

First, keep close track. There are plenty of ways to review both your score and your credit reports for free. The three national credit bureaus (Equifax®, TransUnion® and Experian®) offer free reports up to once a week at AnnualCreditReport.com. And many banks, including SoFi, will monitor your score at no cost and alert you of any changes. Monitoring will help you stay on top of potential errors or credit fraud — just make sure to report it right away if something is off. (And don’t worry, checking your score won’t impact it.)

Next, dig in. If you’re using a credit score monitoring service like SoFi’s, you’ll be able to see what’s affecting your score and which areas you might be able to improve. Your payment history has the biggest impact on your score, so if you’re able to, pay your credit card and other loans on time, every time. (Setting up auto-pay is an easy way to stay on top of this.)

Another important factor is how much of your available credit (aka total credit limit) you’re using. While you’ll often hear you should stay below 30%, the lower the better, as long as it’s not 0%.

Pro tip: One way to lower your percentage is to request a credit limit increase from one of your lenders. You could be eligible for a higher limit, especially if you haven’t updated your income recently.

Don’t let a mixup cost you. Missing payments can hurt your score even when there’s an innocent mistake. And collection efforts stay on your credit reports for seven years.

Let’s say your car lease payments were on autopay but when you extended the lease, you didn’t realize the autopay needed to be renewed too, so you mistakenly missed a payment. Or, you haven’t paid some of your medical bills because you believe they should be covered by insurance. Don’t ignore past-due bills and final notices, even if you think they were sent in error. Follow up (with the doctor, insurer, or lease provider) right away to avoid having it reported to the credit bureaus.

Related Reading

How Income and Salary Affect Your Credit Score (SoFi)

Why Do My FICO® Scores Vary by Credit Bureau? (FICO)

Penalized: The Hidden Cost of Credit Score in Homeowners Insurance Premiums (Consumer Federation of America)

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