But borrowing money isn’t free. And the person or entity that’s lending you money is going to charge you. This is where credit scores come in.

The equation is pretty simple. The higher your credit score, the less you’re going to be charged to borrow money. Since it can be difficult to pay for an entire home or an entire new car in one sitting, you’re going to want to borrow money for as cheap as possible.

A higher credit score also tends to mean that someone is more willing to lend you money. If you don’t have any credit, or if your credit isn’t very good, you may not be able to borrow money at all. For example, if you use credit card responsibly, you don’t actually have to pay any interest at all. But if you don’t have a good credit score, you may not even be able to get the credit card you want.

For a deeper dive on why your credit score matters and how a higher credit score can make borrowing money cheaper, check out our deeper dive into interest rates and APRs.