By now you must know why your credit score is an important number in your financial life, but did you know there’s also a two-digit number that can be just as significant?

It’s your debt-to-income ratio, and it can shed a light on your true fiscal circumstances.

Calculating this number takes mere minutes - and doesn’t cost a dime.

You can get a fairly accurate understanding of your financial picture by spending just a minute or two calculating this ratio. By knowing the ratio - and how to improve it - you can increase your chances of getting a better Florida mortgage loan, a better car loan and even better credit card rates.

DTI explained

Your debt-to-income ratio is exactly what it sounds like: the amount of debt you have in the form of Florida home loans, car loans, student loans and credit card debt, as compared to your overall income.

To calculate your overall debt-to-income ratio, sometimes known as a back-end ratio, add up all of your monthly debt obligations - often called recurring debt - including your mortgage (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) and Florida home equity loan payments, car loans, student loans, your minimum monthly payments on any credit card debt, and any other loans that you might have. Do not include expenses such as groceries, utilities and gas.

Take this total and divide it by your gross monthly income from all sources.

Note: Some lenders will exclude the mortgage payment from this equation, but they lower the ratio. The concept is the same: it measures your debt load in comparison to your income.

In general, you’ll want to keep that number below 36 percent - a threshold that loan officers and credit card issuers often use as a factor when they determine how much they’re willing to lend you.

“If you go higher than 36 percent, you are on a slippery slope,” says Diane McCurdy, a Certified Financial Planner and author of “How Much Is Enough?” Lenders might give you money, she adds, “but they’ll give you higher [Florida mortgage interest rates], and if anything goes awry, they’ll sock it to you.”

So why is that number so important? It’s all about proportion, says Laura Russell, a certified financial counselor with GreenPath Debt Solutions.

“You can be making a lot of money every month, but if you’ve got the debt to match it, that can be a problem,” she says. “It’s important not to overextend yourself.” The higher your number, the riskier it is for lenders to offer you loans - and the more they’ll make you pay for them.