Credit scores are one of the most important economic factors for consumers to understand, yet there are a lot of myths out there that don't seem to go away, according to MSN Money.

One such myth is the confusion around checking credit scores. Everyone has seen the commercials advertising credit reports, but some may have heard that checking your score can actually lower it. This is false – a consumer checking their own score will not lower it. If a bank or dealership pulls a credit report, it could cause a minor ding in the score – but since this is necessary to be approved anyways, consumers shouldn't worry about it.

Another major myth surrounds credit limits. Some believe that keeping limits low will help a score. In reality, the opposite is true. Lenders want to see a good utilization rate, meaning that a consumer only uses a small percentage of the credit available to him or her. If the limit is low, your utilization rate may be higher than it should be.

Understanding how credit works can save drivers tons of money over the course of their lifetime. For example, a driver who improves their credit score can look into auto loan refinancing and take advantage of more favorable interest rates than they may have been offered when their score was less than stellar.