Things That Could Affect Your Credit Score

Keeping your credit score in good shape is as easy as carrying as little debt as you can and paying your bills on time, right? While most of the time those two simple rules – simple to understand but not always simple to execute – will keep your score at its best, there are some things that you may not be aware of that could be making your credit score lower than it could be. There are things that most people know will affect their credit score such as applying for loans and credit cards, but there are other things … Continue reading →

Sacrificial Credit

It’s rare that a husband and wife will have similar credit scores. They each began their credit history as singles, long before they joined their lives together, and their numbers will sometimes be vastly different. Sometimes the man’s score will be much higher than the wife’s, and other times, it will be vice versa. I’ll use myself and my husband as an example, where mine has always been higher than his. When we were first married, I was at 730, and he was at 650. He’d had a former roommate who ran up the phone bill (in my husband’s name) … Continue reading →

Better Access to Credit Score

A new year has begun. Now is the perfect time to look at your credit report to make sure the information reported on it is correct. You can get a free copy of your report from any agency responsible for the decision to deny credit. A better option is to go to annualcreditreport.com. At annualcreditreport.com you can order a credit report from each reporting agency for free each year. There are many catchy commercials on TV advertising free credit reports. While the commercials are clever, the credit reports aren’t exactly free. You will get a free report, but if you … Continue reading →

Protect Your Family By Knowing Your Credit Score

What is your credit score? Has it changed recently? Is your credit score considered to be low, or is it nice and high? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might be at risk for identity theft. One great way to protect your family from identity theft is to be extremely careful about whom you share personal information with. But, even the most careful person can become a victim of identity theft. The best way to protect your family from identity theft is by being keenly aware of your credit score, and to know what, exactly, is … Continue reading →

Credit Scores and Life

Some people blow off the concept of credit history and credit scores because they don’t plan to use credit. Living without credit is possible. There are growing numbers of people in this society who have chosen this path. Certainly, debt has its demons. Starting a credit line can be a dangerous path. Still, no matter what your personal feelings are… society has begun to rely on credit scores to determine just how responsible you are in everything. This means, even if you never plan to take a loan or open a credit card, your credit history (or lack there of) … Continue reading →

More Tips on Repairing Credit

To continue our discussion from yesterday, you have lined up all your important credit documents and set up a reasonable budget. The next steps are some specific tips you can do to get that credit score up a little quicker. With a goal of 720, your score is best improved by regular full payments to all your accounts, ON TIME. Even one late payment can dramatically affect your score and take months or years to remedy. Always, always pay on time… even if all you can do is make the minimum. Pay on time! In addition, a few other factors … Continue reading →

Repair Credit

If you have a poor credit score, it is time to get in gear. There are many ways to improve your report, but they all take time to heal the injuries. Therefore, it is important to start now, and then you can reap the benefits of good credit sooner than later. The first step should be to get your most recent credit report from all three reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You are entitled to one free report each year, so this is well worth your time. The best place to visit is AnnualCreditReport.com; they will easily process your … Continue reading →

Credit Scores and Reports

Have you requested your credit report and score recently? If you did, you may have noticed a separate report that lists some information about your score. This accompanying report is as important as the score itself, so pay close attention to it. Most credit reporting agencies will provide you a separate statement in addition to your actual credit score. This statement is intended to provide you valuable information about why your score is what it is. While this statement will help you better understand your report and score, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, no one … Continue reading →

What makes up a Credit Score?

Ever wonder all the basics of what is used for your credit score? Well, here it is, in black and white… and a little grey. To create a credit score, some of the information on your credit report is fed into a mathematical formula. The critical information and their importance are as follows: Account Types – This includes mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. The importance of your types of accounts is about 10% of the overall score. Number of Recent New Accounts – Just how many new accounts do you have in proportion to the total? This is another … Continue reading →

How Important Is My Credit Score?

Our society has become overly concerned with credit scores. If you have a bad credit score then you do need to be concerned. If you have no credit score, then you really do not need to worry. You may consider getting a credit card to help to build your credit score, but I would only recommend that if you were sure to never carry a balance on the card. Credit scores are used to determine the interest rate that most companies are willing to offer you for a loan. The time that people worry most about their credit score is … Continue reading →