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CreditBasic entry • Bronze full access
Swift Credit Basics
Good credit isn’t about being rich—it’s about being organized and consistent, which turns everyday decisions into long-term savings and options.
- Credit is your financial reputation. It affects where you live, what you drive, your phone plan, your job offers, and how much you pay for insurance and deposits.
- A strong score = lower costs, more approvals, better terms. A weak score = higher costs, more friction, fewer options.
- Good credit isn’t about being rich—it’s about being organized and consistent, which turns everyday decisions into long-term savings and options.
Levels
2
Modules
8
Lessons
27
Quizzes
81
Total time
~3h 55m
Playbooks & tools
7
Bite-size lessons (5–10 min): short videos + one-page summaries.
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What you will cover
A quick overview of the Basic lessons — no full syllabus, just the key takeaways from each stop in the course.
- Why credit matters in everyday life — Good credit isn’t about being rich—it’s about being organized and consistent, which turns everyday decisions into long-term savings and options.
- The Swift learning approach — Short lessons, real demos, and repeatable checklists—so beginners become confident credit pros, fast.
- Credit mindset: tool vs. trap — Use credit to grow, not to cope—optimize utilization, pay on time, and let consistency do the compounding.
- Borrowing & trust: core concept — Borrowing is a trust exchange—prove reliability with on-time, low-balance behavior, and you’ll be offered cheaper money and more options.
- History of credit (barter → cards → FICO) — From bartered favors to algorithmic scores, the game never changed: prove reliability over time, and credit gets cheaper and more powerful.
- How the system evolved — As credit moved from handshakes to algorithms, the rules got clearer: pay on time, keep balances low, build age, and audit your data—the system will reward you with cheaper, faster credit.
- Who are the credit bureaus? (E/E/T) — E/E/T are three separate record-keepers telling versions of the same story—keep that story clean, consistent, and documented, and your approvals and pricing improve.
- What’s inside a credit report — Your credit report is a living ledger of identity, accounts, payments, and inquiries—keep it accurate, low-balance, and on-time, and your scores and approvals follow.
- Credit score factors (overview) — Protect payment history, keep utilization ultra-low, let accounts age, maintain a simple mix, and pace new credit—those five levers move the number that sets your rates.
- Opening your first line of credit safely — Open one simple line, automate payments, keep reported balances ultra-low, and grow limits—not spending—to build credit safely and fast.
- Credit cards vs loans vs lines of credit — Use cards for paid-in-full convenience and rewards, loans for predictable, lower-cost payoffs, and lines for flexible, short-term cash—always with utilization low and payments on time.
- Myths vs facts — Build credit with on-time payments, ultra-low utilization, steady age, and clean data—not by carrying balances or chasing shortcuts.
Playbooks & tools inside the course
These checklists and frameworks show up directly in the lessons so you can practice without needing extra downloads.
- Score Tracker: monthly snapshot of score, utilization, new accounts.
- Dispute Builder: structured prompts → clean letters.
- Utilization Calculator: per-card and total, with goal targets.
- Approval Matrix: which card/loan fits your profile right now.
- PAY-LOW-GROW: Pay on time → Keep balances low → Grow limits safely.
- RAPID Dispute: Review → Assert rights → Prove with docs → Issue letter → Diary date follow-up.
- 3–30–90 Rule: 3% elite utilization, 30% max target, 90 days to judge trend.
How you will work
The pacing comes straight from the Swift learning approach inside the material — bite-size lessons, real demos, and weekly reps that keep momentum high.
- Bite-size lessons (5–10 min): short videos + one-page summaries.
- Show > Tell: real screenshots, sample reports, and mini case studies.
- Practice-first: quick exercises after each lesson to lock it in.
- Progressive stacking: every module adds one new skill, never overwhelm.
- Module badges: Foundations, Builder, Strategist, Expert.
- Weekly “Credit Reps”: 3 small actions/week (e.g., set auto-pay, pull report, request CLI).