People talk a lot about credit scores. Bands play songs about them in TV ads that try to sell you credit reports. It’s generally known that a higher score is better than a lower score. But what really is the difference between a person with a 820 and one with a 620? Is one a better person than the other? Not necessarily, but the person with the 620 score can expect to pay $227 more a month on a $216,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Here’s the breakdown.

LowCards.com shows how credit scores work and how a lower one can cost you more money. For instance, drawing from data provided by FICO, here’s the monthly payments folks with different credit scores can expect to pay on a $216,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage:

760-850 score | 5.86% interest rate | $1,275 monthly payment
700-759 score | 6.08% interest rate | $1,306 monthly payment
680-699 score | 6.26% interest rate | $1,331 monthly payment
660-679 score | 6.47% interest rate | $1,361 monthly payment
640-659 score | 6.90% interest rate | $1,423 monthly payment
620-639 score | 7.45% interest rate | $1,502 monthly payment

Credit scores also affect the quality of credit cards you’re offered and the rate you pay on them, so it’s a good idea to keep your credit score in top shape. You can do that by paying your bills on time, using up less than 30% of your overall credit, and having a high amount of available credit. You’ll want to periodically review your credit report and make sure there’s no wrong information on it that’s hurting your score as well. You can do that once per year for free with each of the three major credit bureaus by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

Credit Scores [LowCards]

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