Look Who’s Shopping Now

Credit scores are a mystery to many people. A good number of us really have no clue of just what is considered and what goes into a credit score. While it is easy to figure out that in order to have a high score it is vital to pay your bills on time there are also other factors that are very significant.

A credit score is a statistical rating that takes into consideration certain statistics and compiles that information into a number that represents a consumer’s creditworthiness. The higher the score the better credit risk the consumer is deemed to be. Scores above 700 are thought to be excellent while scores below 600 are poor.

Credit scores can vary often. They are based upon a range of factors and these factors can amend often. You may have never had a late payment yet still have a lesser score because of the other factors. All credit is not scored evenly and if you have been shopping for credit and you have too many recent inquiries your score will also be reduced.

Here are the factors that will change your credit score. 35% is based upon your punctual payment history. Only payments past 30 days late are counted as harmful. 30% is your debt to credit ratio or the sum of money owing you have accrued compared to the amount of credit you have available. 15% is the extent of your credit history. Of course, the longer your account the more positive it is. 10% is the type of credit used. Consumer finance debt is considered to be damaging while credit card debt, car loans, and mortgages are more of a positive. 10% is how many current inquiries are on your report. Having too many inquiries is considered harmful.

Being alert of these factors is the initial step in improving your credit score. Use this education to your advantage. Make your payments on time and never charge more than 35% of your available credit. Make sure you continuously keep at least 65% of your accessible credit on hand. Stay away from department store credit and consumer finance credit and make sure that you are skeptical about letting anyone confirm your credit. Never get your credit checked unless you have to.

You can boost your credit scores and repair your credit. There are professionals that specialize in credit repair or you can do it yourself but be aware that you have the right to dispute negative credit and negative credit scores.

Don’t struggle with low credit scores any longer. Get knowledgeable and take action to raise your scores and repair your credit.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 9:33 am and is filed under money. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.