There are several numbers every adult should know. These include: your phone number, your age, your address, your driver’s license number, the number to call in case of emergency, your social security number, and your credit score.

You may not think that knowing your credit score is as important as knowing to call 911 when your house is on fire because you didn’t realize how many candles you were going to have to light on your birthday cake this year. But knowing your credit score is important. It has far-reaching effects in your life that you may not realize, and here are a few of them:

• If you apply for a job, your potential employer may check your credit score. A low score can cost you the job of your dreams.
• If you apply for an apartment, your potential landlord will definitely check your credit score. Bad credit has cost many people the apartment of their dreams.
• If you apply for a credit card, having a low credit score may result in a denial of your application, or in your being given the highest possible annual percentage rate (APR).

Get the picture? These days, even people you meet on dating sites might want to run a check on your credit history before the first date. So, do yourself a favor and make sure you know what your credit score is. All you need to do is request a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. You are allowed to do this for free once every year.

Your free credit report may not give you your exact credit score, but it will give you a good idea of where you stand. You can pay a small fee, sign up for a credit monitoring service, or apply for a credit card that gives you a free FICO score each month on your statement for free. There are many ways nowadays to keep tabs on your credit score.

If your credit score isn’t quite where you’d like it to be, keep in mind that credit bureaus score you according to five things: payment history, amount of available credit, length of credit history, mix of types of credit, and number of new credit requests.

To improve your credit score, make sure all your accounts are in good standing. Pay down your balances as much as possible, keeping them at a maximum of 30% of your available credit. Make all payments on time, keep your accounts open so your length of credit history increases, have at least a couple different types of loans (for example, credit card, mortgage, student loans, auto loans, installment loans), and don’t apply for too many new credit cards in a short amount of time.

Maintaining a healthy credit score is vital to your overall health—and knowing that score is just as important as knowing your blood pressure and resting heart rate (add those to the list of numbers you need to know).