What does a credit score represent?

A credit score serves as a numerical representation of an individual's creditworthiness, encapsulating their credit history, payment behavior, and overall financial management. This score is typically derived from several factors, including payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit inquiries, and types of credit used.

The higher the credit score, the more favorable the individual's perceived creditworthiness is viewed by lenders and other financial institutions. This numerical value plays a crucial role in assessing how likely a borrower is to repay debts, thus informing lending decisions. It reflects not just the likelihood of being approved for a loan but also the terms of that loan, such as interest rates and credit limits.

Other aspects mentioned in the options, such as the ability to save money or the likelihood of loan approval, are related concepts but do not encapsulate the essence of what a credit score is. The trustworthiness in financial dealings hints at accountability, which aligns closely with creditworthiness but does not specifically refer to the numerical aspect that defines the credit score. Therefore, the answer best capturing the definition of a credit score is that it is a numerical representation of creditworthiness.