Improving Your Credit Score

The best way to improve your credit score is to improve your knowledge on credit reports.  There are three major credit bureaus that put together your credit report: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.  Although the information they gather is yours, you do not own it, these agencies own your information.  They have collected the information and they give you the right to view it.  You can view your credit report for free on www.anualcreditreport.com.  You can view one or all three, depending what you need it for.  Your credit score will be between 500 and 840, anything over 700 is a good score.

How your score is tabulated is unknown, but what makes up your credit score is no secret.  Some of the items that are calculated into your credit score are employment, department store credit card(s), credit card(s), installment loan(s), collection item(s), and inquiries.

Department Store Credit Card Accounts

For department store credit card accounts they look at highest credit allowed, balance, and date opened.  The rating scale on this account is R1 to R9 with R9 being the worst.  The R stands for revolving, and it tracks how well you pay.  A similar scale is used for installment loans, I1 to I9, where I9 means the account is in collection.  On this scale, I7 means they took back the collateral.  For example, on a car loan I7 means the car was repossessed.  All accounts, department store credit cards, credit cards, installment loans, etc., have a twenty four month window.  If you fall behind and make a late payment on any account, you must make twenty three on time payments to get the late payment to drop off.  Inquiries made on your account have a very small effect.  If you are shopping for a new car, the inquiries made by the dealerships have no significant effect on your score.  However, if you have fifteen inquiries in one month it will cause a big impact because it appears you are desperate for credit and this raises a big flag.

This information is sold to banks by the credit bureaus; this is how they make money.  With this information banks look at who is a credit risk, will pay over a long period of time, and earn them the most money.  For example, banks look at bankruptcy filers to offer them a credit card with high interest.  Also, the bank is attracted to those who recently purchased a home because most of them will make big purchases like furniture, home improvements, etc.

Managing Your Money

There are some simple rules that will help you better manage your money and increase your credit score.  Prioritize your bills, and pay your bills immediately.  As stated by the President and CEO of Christian Credit Counselors, Greg McTaggart, “the longer you have that credit card, the more they make off of you.”  Think of your purchases.  Do not just focus on the present, focus on what you will need 4 to 8 years from now.  Poor planning leads to impulse buying, pre-schedule bills, balance check book, and have cushion for savings and emergencies.  To avoid fraudulent activity on your credit report, do not give out your information generously.  Check your report annually and dispute any irregularities with the credit bureau.

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