Markus Andrews

Parents and other caregivers packing a school lunch will pay more for the standard fare this year, due to food inflation and tariffs, reports show.
Although school-provided lunches are generally less expensive than lunches from home, those costs are rising too.

Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images

Even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is not immune to inflation’s bite.
Although grocery prices cooled in July, food costs, overall, are trending higher, according to the latest consumer price index.

As a result of food cost inflation, parents who pack lunches for their school-age children will pay more in the coming academic year compared with last year, a new report by Deloitte also found.

For parents and other caregivers, the average daily cost of packing a lunch for school is now $6.15, according to Deloitte. That’s up 3% on average, compared with the start of the 2024 school year.
“The high point of inflation was really around 2022, but grocery costs today are 20% more than they were five years ago,” said Natalie Martini, Deloitte’s U.S. retail and consumer sector leader and a mother of two school-age children.
That’s driving “a significant increase in the cost to bring a lunch from home,” she added.

President Donald Trump’s blanket tariffs could also bring higher prices on certain foods, experts say, including fresh produce, nuts and cheese.

A separate study by progressive think tanks Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation found that families will pay nearly $163 more this year for school lunch staples — a 5.4% jump over last year — in part because of Trump’s tariff agenda.
“From lunch boxes and notebooks to juice boxes and pencils, parents are being squeezed at every turn,” Liz Pancotti, Groundwork Collaborative’s managing director of policy and advocacy, said in an email.
Also, many school supplies are at least 20% more expensive than they were pre-pandemic, according to a CNBC analysis.

Although school-provided lunches are almost always cheaper and sometimes free, about 42% of the parents polled said their children bring lunch from home on most school days, according to Deloitte’s report. While price is a key issue, healthy eating was the top concern among caregivers, Deloitte found.
Yet those polled said they would switch from name brands to store brands or substitute a cheaper main lunch item, like a less expensive sandwich, to cut costs.
Deloitte surveyed more than 1,200 caregivers of school-age children in May.

School lunches are getting more expensive

School-provided lunches, which cost around $3 on average, are not shielded from price hikes either, largely due to the rising costs of food and labor in addition to staffing shortages, according to the most recent School Nutrition Association annual survey.
The cost of elementary and secondary school lunches rose 3.3% in May 2025 relative to May 2024, according to a consumer price index report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Key legislative reforms over a decade ago paved the way for healthier meals at school with more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on the menu, experts say. However, that also caused costs to increase across the board, as cafeterias integrated more nutritious offerings, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found.

At the same time, nearly 90% of school nutrition directors said worker shortages are a challenge to their operations, particularly when it comes to meeting the new nutritional standards, which require additional staff, training and equipment, according to the School Nutrition Association survey.
Shelly Werger, a mother of seven in Guttenberg, Iowa, said the cost of a school lunch in her district jumped to $4.80 this year from $3.20 the year before.
Despite the price increase, it’s more practical for her youngest children, who are 12 and 16 years old, to buy lunch at school — even though they sometimes complain about the food, Werger said. “They don’t even always like the lunches, but we don’t always have time to make a meal either.”
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. More

Nearly 1 in 5 — or roughly 18% — of student loan borrowers who are age 50 and older became “seriously delinquent,” or 90 days or more late on their payments, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
But there’s still time for older student loan borrowers who are behind on their bills to avoid default, and the risk of their wages and retirement benefits being garnished.

Vladimir Vladimirov | E+ | Getty Images

More older student loan borrowers are struggling to pay their monthly bill, as the Trump administration ramps up its collection efforts.
Nearly 1 in 5 — or roughly 18% — of student loan borrowers who are 50 and older became “seriously delinquent,” or 90 days or more late on their payments, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The rate for that age group was closer to 10% in 2019.

For comparison, closer to 8% of student loan borrowers between the ages of 18 and 29 became seriously delinquent during that time frame, and around 11% of those aged 30 to 39 did.
“Being delinquent on student loan debt is difficult for people who are approaching their retirement years,” said Lori Trawinski, director of finance and employment at AARP.
“People end up having to make extremely difficult choices,” Trawinski said.
Some of the repayment troubles may stem from older Americans borrowing more than they can afford for their children’s college education, experts say. Other people run into financial difficulties after returning to school later in life and then not accessing the career opportunities they’d hoped for.
More from Personal Finance:Trump floats tariff ‘rebate’ for consumersStudent loan forgiveness may soon be taxed againStudent loan borrowers — how will the end of the SAVE plan impact you? Tell us

Whatever the reason, falling behind on your education debt may quickly have more financial consequences.
Earlier this summer, the Trump administration announced that it would soon resume collection activity against student loan borrowers who aren’t making their payments. This comes after a nearly five-year period during which student loan holders were shielded from the consequences of missing their bills, a policy that began at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here’s what older borrowers in the red need to know.

There’s still time to prevent default

There are key differences between student loan delinquency and default.
While becoming delinquent for 90 days or more on your student loans can show up on your credit report and lower your score, the more severe consequences of federal collection activity don’t usually start until you’re more than 270 days late and eventually fall into default, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Meanwhile, private lenders typically consider student borrowers in default after 120 days without a payment, he said.
Delinquent student loan borrowers have time to get current, said certified financial planner Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York.
“For those struggling, the first step is to explore all available federal repayment options, especially income-driven repayment plans, which can significantly lower monthly payments and prevent default,” said Boneparth, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
You can try to find a repayment plan with monthly bills you can afford at Studentaid.gov.

The so-called Income-Based Repayment plan is one of what may be a dwindling number of manageable repayment options left to borrowers, after recent court actions and the passage of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill. That legislation phases out several other repayment plans.
There are tools from the Education Department to help you determine how much your monthly bill would be under different plans.
Struggling borrowers can also see if they’re eligible to pause their payments, such as through a forbearance or economic hardship deferment — though it’s important to check if your debt will accrue interest during the reprieve.
“Requesting a temporary forbearance can buy time, but ideally, borrowers should aim for an affordable, sustainable payment plan rather than stop-gap measures,” Boneparth said.

Social Security protected, but not wages

Older student loan borrowers who are behind on their payments received some good news earlier this summer: The Department of Education has paused its plan to garnish defaulted borrowers’ Social Security benefits. Normally, Social Security recipients can see their checks reduced by up to 15% to pay back their defaulted student loan.
An Education Department spokesperson told CNBC in an email Tuesday that the department has not offset any Social Security benefits since restarting collections on May 5 and has paused future Social Security offsets.
Still, older borrowers should take steps to get their debt out of delinquency as quickly as possible and avoid becoming at risk for more punishing collection activity, said AARP’s Trawinski.
While the Trump administration said in June that it was pausing Social Security offsets, “what they did not do is issue a formal rule or regulation saying they won’t do so in the future,” Trawinski said. As a result, she said, “there’s an expectation that they will at some point resume those garnishments.”
For those older borrowers who are still working, the Education Department can also garnish up to 15% of your disposable, or after-tax, pay, toward a defaulted student loan, Kantrowitz said.
“We anticipate wage garnishment to begin later this summer,” a spokesperson for the Education Department told CNBC on Aug. 5.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More

Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange and owner of crypto news site CoinDesk, priced its initial public offering at $37 per share, above the expected range of $32 to $33.
The IPO price gives the company a total market value of $5.4 billion.
Shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol “BLSH.”

Tom Farley, chief executive officer of Bullish Global, during a Bloomberg Television interview on the sidelines of the Consensus Crypto Conference in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.
Lam Yik | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has priced its initial public offering at $37 per share, above the expected range of $32 to $33 and giving it a total market value of $5.4 billion.
The company will raise $1.1 billion in the offering of 30 million shares. In a measure of increased investor appetite, Bullish expanded the number of shares sold in the IPO from 20.3 million, which were originally proposed to be sold at between $28 and $31 a share.

Bullish granted its underwriters, led by JPMorgan, Jefferies and Citigroup, a 30-day option to sell an additional 4.5 million shares. Bullish stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol “BLSH.”
BlackRock and Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management have indicated interest in purchasing up to $200 million of the shares.
Bullish, which is led by former New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley and headquartered in the Cayman Islands, is a cryptocurrency exchange that’s geared toward institutional investors and brings together decentralized finance protocols with the security of a centralized company.
Since its launch in 2021, total trading volume on the Bullish platform exceeded $1.25 trillion as of March 31.
Bullish also owns the crypto news website CoinDesk, which includes crypto indexes, data and analytics.

This is the second attempt by Bullish to go public in the four years since it was introduced. Backers, including billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, are looking to take advantage of the Trump administration’s favorable attitude toward crypto, which has invigorated capital markets this year.
In June, stablecoin issuer Circle made a highly successful stock market debut, raising more than $1 billion. That followed the transfer to Nasdaq (from Toronto) of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital and stock and crypto trading app eToro’s IPO that valued it at $5.4 billion. Crypto custody startup BitGo and crypto exchange Gemini have also confidentially filed for U.S. listings. 
—CNBC’s Nick Wells contributed reporting.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro: More

New estimates point to a 2.7% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.
In 2025, Social Security beneficiaries saw a 2.5% increase to their monthly checks.
The size of the Social Security COLA for next year will depend on two more months of government inflation data.

A customer shops at a supermarket in Rockville, Maryland, on July 18, 2025.
Sha Hanting | China News Service | VCG | Getty Images

Social Security beneficiaries may see a 2.7% cost-of-living adjustment in 2026, according to new estimates from policy experts, based on the latest government inflation data.
That projected increase would be higher than the 2.5% adjustment beneficiaries saw in 2025.

Social Security implements a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, every year to adjust benefits for inflation. The Social Security Administration typically announces the official change for the upcoming year in October.
New estimates from both Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare policy analyst, and the Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, point to a 2.7% COLA for 2026, based on new July inflation data.
Two more months of inflation data will be factored into the official COLA calculation for next year.

In July, Johnson estimated a 2.7% Social Security COLA for 2026, and the Senior Citizens League projected 2.6%.
Social Security cost-of-living adjustments have averaged 2.6% over the past 20 years, according to the Senior Citizens League.

How Social Security calculates the COLA

Social Security’s official assessment of the cost of living is based on three months of government inflation data — for July, August and September — which is averaged and compared with the same three months for the previous year. The percentage difference from one year to the next determines the COLA.
The COLA is calculated based on a subset of the consumer price index, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W.

The consumer price index was up 2.7% over the past 12 months, according to new July data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday. The CPI-W was up 2.5% over the last 12 months as of July.
Tariffs had just a modest effect on the latest consumer price index data, though the impact of the new policies did show up in several areas, including household furnishings and supplies.
If tariffs do affect inflation in the next two months, that may have an impact on the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2026. More

More than 120,000 tickets have already been sold for screenings of a special rendering of “The Wizard of Oz” starting later this month at the Las Vegas Sphere, according to James Dolan, CEO of parent company Sphere Entertainment.
Showings of the Judy Garland movie released in 1939 may help drive the rate of Las Vegas visitors attending the Sphere above 10%, Dolan said.

The Sphere is seen during its opening night with the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live concert at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023.
Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

There’s no place like the Las Vegas Sphere.
More than 120,000 tickets have been sold for showings of a special rendering of “The Wizard of Oz” starting later this month, according to James Dolan, CEO of parent company Sphere Entertainment. The company expects ticket sales to reach 200,000 by the time of the first screening.

“We’re very proud of the product, and we think it’s groundbreaking,” Dolan said on the parent company’s earnings call Monday. “We think that it’s going to draw a lot of attention and that people who come to Vegas are going to want to go.”
Dolan said the showings can help drive the rate of Las Vegas visitors who go to the Sphere above 10% — an increase from around 7% currently.
Sphere Entertainment worked with engineers on using artificial intelligence-powered “outpainting” to expand the film’s original frames to fit the Las Vegas venue, which opened in September 2023. The goal, according to the company, is to make viewers feel like they were in the studio when the legendary movie — released in 1939 and starring Judy Garland — was made.

Jack Haley, as the Tin Man: Bert Lahr, as the Cowardly Lion; Judy Garland, as Dorothy; Ray Bolger, as the Scarecrow; and Frank Morgan, as the Doorman to the Emerald City in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Silver Screen Collection | Moviepix | Getty Images

While Dolan told analysts he expects strong demand for tickets, which start at over $100, he acknowledged that bringing the film to the 20,000-person venue was “not an inexpensive project.” Sphere describes the viewings as “immersive,” involving 167,000 audio speakers, and 4D elements including “haptic seats, environmental effects and custom scents.”
In the future, owners of movies may be inclined to work with Sphere Entertainment because it can boost interest in the original intellectual property, Dolan said.

Despite the latest optimism around the screenings, Sphere Entertainment reported second-quarter revenue that came in below expectations of analysts polled by FactSet. However, Sphere posted adjusted operating income that was more than double the amount seen in the same period a year ago.
‘Underappreciated’ stock catalyst
Some Wall Street analysts are particularly optimistic about the outlook as the screenings of the film begin.
“We believe the Wizard of Oz remains a massive and generally underappreciated catalyst for Sphere,” said Wolfe Research’s Peter Supino, who added that the second quarter “shouldn’t make or break your investment thesis.”

Stock chart icon

Sphere Entertainment shares in 2025

Supino expects the parent company’s Sphere Experience revenue to total about $110 million in the fourth quarter, the first full three-month reporting period that will include “The Wizard of Oz” screenings and eclipsing the prior high of $101 million in this year’s first quarter.
Partly as a result, Supino said the stock can reach $65 over the coming year, or 68% above Monday’s close. At one point, shares rallied more than 4.5% on Tuesday, reversing a 4% decline on Monday. More

ETF Strategist

ETF Street
ETF Strategist

Most retirees must take required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from pretax retirement accounts at age 73 or face an IRS penalty.
April 1 of the year after turning 73 is the first deadline, but retirees must take RMDs by Dec. 31 in subsequent years. 
However, there are options to consider if you don’t need the money, experts say.

Seizavisuals | E+ | Getty Images

As year-end approaches, some older Americans must soon take required withdrawals from retirement accounts — and there are several options if you don’t need the money, experts say. 
Most retirees must take required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from pretax retirement accounts starting at age 73 or face an IRS penalty. The first deadline is April 1 of the year after turning 73, and Dec. 31 is the due date for future years. 

But some retirees have “a lot of guaranteed income” before RMDs, or spend less than they have coming in, according to Judy Brown, a certified financial planner who works at C&H Group in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore area.

More from ETF Strategist:

Here’s a look at other stories offering insight on ETFs for investors.

In 2024, Social Security was the most common source of retirement income. But 81% of retirees had one or more types of private income, such as pensions, investments, rental income or employment, according to a Federal Reserve report published in May.  
When retirees have more than they need, there could be decisions about how to spend or reinvest their RMDs, experts say. 
“It can definitely impact a lot of people,” and the right choice depends on your financial needs and goals, said Brown, who is also a certified public accountant.
Here are some options to consider.

Reinvest with exchange-traded funds

If you still want long-term growth, you can reinvest RMD proceeds into a brokerage account. But you need to choose assets carefully because the account incurs yearly taxes, experts say.
Typically, experts suggest exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, over mutual funds in a brokerage account because the assets are less likely to distribute capital gains or dividends throughout the year.  
“It’s also easier for tax-loss harvesting,” which involves selling a losing brokerage account asset to offset other portfolio gains, Brown said. 
Since ETFs trade throughout the day like a stock, you have more control when selling specific assets, she said.

‘Skip the tax bill’ with a transfer to charity

For charitable investors, you could also consider a so-called qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, experts say.  
Open to retirees age 70½ or older, QCDs are a direct transfer from an individual retirement account to an eligible non-profit organization. For 2025, the limit is $108,000 per investor.  
Once you’re 73 or older, you can use QCDs to satisfy yearly RMDs and the transfer won’t increase your adjusted gross income. 
“It’s the IRS’ best-kept secret for retirees,” said CFP Ashton Lawrence at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina. “Skip the tax bill and help a cause you believe in.”

Legacy planning with a 529 contribution

If legacy planning is important, you can also consider using RMDs to contribute to a 529 college savings plan for your family, experts say.
As of May 2025, more than 30 states offer a state tax credit or deduction for 529 contributions, according to education website Saving for College. In most cases, this requires a deposit to your state’s plan. There is not currently a federal income tax break for contributions.”It’s not going to be enough to offset all of their state [income] taxes,” said Brown. But you can “get a benefit going for the grandchildren” while securing a state tax break for yourself, she said. More

With college costs reaching new highs, The Princeton Review ranked schools based on how much financial aid is awarded.
At several of the schools near the top of The Princeton Review’s list, the average scholarship awarded in 2024-25 to students with need was more than $70,000. 

For the first time, the total cost of college this year is nearing or crossing the $100,000 threshold at several institutions in the U.S. 
Although the price tags are shocking, few families pay the full tab. As of the 2024-25 academic year, the amount families actually spent on education costs was closer to $31,000, on average, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report.

In most cases, parent income and savings cover about half of college costs, Sallie Mae found. Free money from scholarships and grants accounts for more than a quarter of the costs and student loans make up most of the rest.
“You really do need to have a multipoint plan, and it’s not just savings and not just debt,” said Chris Ebeling, head of student lending at Citizens.
More from Personal Finance:Education Department launches FAFSA sooner than expectedFamilies feel confident about paying for college, until tuition bills arriveStudent loan borrowers: How will the end of the SAVE plan affect you? Tell us
When it comes to applying for financial aid, “there are buckets of resource dollars available,” said Robert Franek, editor in chief at The Princeton Review.
Beyond federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Education and state aid, many schools offer their own grant or scholarship funds. 

To that end, The Princeton Review ranked colleges by how generous these awards are and how satisfied students are with their packages. The 2026 edition of the company’s “Best Colleges” guide is based on data from surveys of 170,000 students during the 2024-25 academic year. Sticker prices are based on the upcoming school year.

The colleges and universities that ranked the highest on The Princeton Review’s list not only deliver on assistance, but also on addressing concerns about college affordability head on, Franek said.
“These schools understand the pain points that families have in general and it is around cost, cost, cost,” he said.
At Amherst College, for example, the sticker price for 2025-26 is $93,090 a year — including tuition, fees and room and board — but the average need-based scholarship is $71,342, which brings the total out-of-pocket cost down to $21,748. At other schools in the top 10, the out-of-pocket costs are even lower.

Top 10 colleges for financial aid

Washington and Lee
Doug Plummer | Washington and Lee University

1. Washington and Lee UniversityLocation: Lexington, VirginiaSticker price: $86,730Average need-based scholarship: $67,220Total out-of-pocket cost: $19,510Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
2. Franklin W. Olin College of EngineeringLocation: Needham, MassachusettsSticker price: $84,278Average need-based scholarship: $56,968Total out-of-pocket cost: $27,310Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 99%
3. Washington University in St. LouisLocation: St. Louis, MissouriSticker price: $92,932Average need-based scholarship: $70,607Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,325Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
4. Princeton UniversityLocation: Princeton, New JerseySticker price: $86,668Average need-based scholarship: $73,711Total out-of-pocket cost: $12,957Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
5. Reed CollegeLocation: Portland, OregonSticker price: $89,843Average need-based scholarship: $52,382Total out-of-pocket cost: $37,461Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
6. Amherst CollegeLocation: Amherst, MassachusettsSticker price: $93,090Average need-based scholarship: $71,342Total out-of-pocket cost: $21,748Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
7. Lafayette CollegeLocation: Easton, PennsylvaniaSticker price: $87,318Average need-based scholarship: $49,603Total out-of-pocket cost: $37,715Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
8. Columbia UniversityLocation: New York, New YorkSticker price: $89,425Average need-based scholarship: $73,702Total out-of-pocket cost: $15,723Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
9. Rice UniversityLocation: Houston, TexasSticker price: $87,047Average need-based scholarship: $66,070Total out-of-pocket cost: $20,977Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 100%
10. Gettysburg CollegeLocation: Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaSticker price: $85,640Average need-based scholarship: $48,573Total out-of-pocket cost: $37,067Average share of need met for first-year students with need-based aid: 90%
Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. More

Americans with a credit score of 620 or below pay what Bankrate calls a “subprime tax” that amounts to $3,400 per year, according to its new report.
The “subprime tax” comes in the form of higher interest rates on products such as mortgages, credit cards, auto and personal loans, and pricier premiums on auto and home insurance.
While having a high credit score can help secure better financing terms, a credit score doesn’t need to be perfect, experts said.

Solstock | E+ | Getty Images

Having a low credit score can come at a significant cost, according to recent data.
Americans with a credit score of 620 or below pay about $3,400 per year for essential financial products in what Bankrate, in a new report, calls a “subprime tax.”

The “subprime tax” comes in the form of higher interest rates on products such as mortgages, credit cards, auto and personal loans, and pricier premiums on auto and home insurance.
Borrowers with a score of 620 pay, on average, $1,330 more annually in mortgage loan interest than those with credit scores of 700, Bankrate found. Compared with that group, subprime borrowers also pay $745 more annually in auto loan interest, $514 more in auto insurance premiums, $398 more in home insurance premiums, $328 more in personal loan interest, and $89 more in credit card interest.
If a borrower doesn’t improve their score, the subprime tax can snowball over the long run, Bankrate found. Over five years, Bankrate’s report said, the subprime tax can cost about $17,016, and over 30 years, the cost is roughly $102,094.
More from Personal Finance:EV sales soar as Trump axes $7,500 tax creditStudent loan borrowers face ‘cliff effect’ under new payment planWhat private assets in 401(k) plans mean for investors
Bankrate said the insurance premium and debt calculations were based on national average data from Bankrate, Experian and FICO. Bankrate defined a score of 620 and lower as subprime, and a score of 700 and higher as prime.

The subprime tax affects roughly 21% of American adults, Bankrate estimated.
As of April, the average FICO credit score in the U.S. is 715. The score ranges from 300 to 850; the higher the credit score, the better.
The Bankrate report showcases the value of having a good credit score: A good score increases your likelihood of being approved for loans and of receiving better financing terms, experts say.
However, “you don’t need a perfect credit score to get the best loan terms,” said Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.
“Generally speaking, lenders stop distinguishing once you hit the mid-700s and above,” he said.

Why a low credit score can cost you

Your credit score is a “prediction of your credit behavior, such as how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on information from your credit reports,” according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“It’s like a standardized test score,” said Rossman. 
If your credit score is low, lenders may think you are more likely to pay late, said John Ulzheimer, a consumer credit expert. To offset that risk, banks and lenders typically charge the borrower higher interest rates.

How to improve your credit

Lenders have different definitions of what makes a good credit score, Ulzheimer said.
Even so, experts say, once your score gets to a certain point, or somewhere in the mid-700s, you are generally in a good place in terms of risk.
“The odds of you going delinquent at some point are so low that the lender is happy with taking the risk with you,” Ulzheimer said.
To improve your credit, first take a look at your credit reports, issued by the three credit reporting bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You can request them for free via annualcreditreport.com. Your credit scores are based on the information in those reports.

Make sure the information in each of the reports is correct, said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree. If there’s a mistake, which can happen, correcting it can help improve your credit.
Otherwise, the “most actionable way” to improve your score is by working toward paying down any credit card debt, said Ulzheimer. 
“If you can pay down or pay off credit card debt, your scores are going to improve,” he said.
Reducing your debt can improve your credit utilization ratio, or how much you owe relative to how much credit you have available to you.
This factor makes up 30% of your score, according to FICO. Experts typically advise keeping your credit utilization under 30%, but a 2024 LendingTree study found that consumers with the best scores had utilization ratios of around 10%.
Another easy way to boost your score is by making on-time payments. Payment history makes up 35% of your score, according to FICO.
As you increase your credit score, look for ways to benefit. For example, ask your credit card issuers if you can qualify for a lower rate, and see if your insurers will reassess your policy premiums. Gauge whether it’s worth refinancing any current loans. More