Managing Your Credit Score
On the road to taking care of one New Year’s resolution - getting my financial situation in order - I am happy to report I have improved my FICO credit score in one week by finally accepting that my savings account is actually costing me money (as the interest doesn’t offset my credit card APRs), and consequently committed to putting more into my credit card payments instead of savings until at least three cards are paid off.
If you want to learn how you can improve your credit score, here are some suggestions from MyFICO (to learn about what FICO is and how it works, visit http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/)
Making Payments
- Pay your bills on time.
Your payment history is the largest contributor to your FICO® score. Consistently make all of your payments on time. If you cannot
pay down the full balance on an account, then pay down at least the minimum amount due. If you are forgetful about paying bills, sign upwith an automatic bill pay service. - If you can, pay off more than the minimum on credit cards.
The larger the cushion between the balance on your credit card and its credit limit, the more it will help your FICO® score. - Do not miss payments on an account for very long.
If you miss payments on an account for many months or longer, then the account can go into late status, be charged off, sent to a
collection agency, or even result in a court judgment. This can cause your FICO® score to drop dramatically. - If you have missed payments, get current and stay current.
In general, the longer you pay your bills on time, the better your score. If the payments on your accounts are past due, get caught up as soon as possible. - Pay off collections, judgments, or tax liens.
Unpaid collections, unsatisfied judgments, and unreleased tax liens are all evidence that you have not paid your debts in the past. Paying off the debts that resulted in a collection, judgment, or tax lien won’t remove it from your credit report, but it will reduce the damage it causes to your score. But be aware that paying off a collection, judgment, or tax lien will make it recently active, which could cause your score to drop in the short term. - If you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor.
Try to work out a payment arrangement with your creditors and negotiate with them to keep at least a portion of the late notations off of your credit reports. If your situation is serious, see a legitimate, non-profit credit counselor. Avoid the scam artists who promise a quick reversal of your credit problems. Working with your creditors won’t change your score immediately, but managing your credit and making payments on time will help your score over time.
Managing Balances
- Keep balances low on credit cards and other “revolving credit”.
In general, keeping low balances on credit cards is better for your FICO® score. “Maxing out” your credit cards, that is, keeping high balances that are close to the credit limit, is a sign to lenders that you are overextending yourself and dependent on credit to maintain, or artificially enhance, your style of living. It can be regarded as an indication that you are not in control of your spending habits because you consume up to the maximum that your credit will allow. - Pay off debt rather than moving it around.
Paying off your current debts and maintaining low balances demonstrates good credit management. Consolidating or moving your debt from one account to another usually will not help your FICO® score since the same total amount is owed. In fact, opening new accounts may hurt your score.
Establishing Credit
- Establish credit early.
In general, a longer credit history is better for your FICO® score. - Get a secured card.
A secured card is a card for which you forward money to the issuer when you open the account, and in return, the issuer will give you a credit line no larger than the amount you deposited. A secured card allows you to open a credit account that establishes your credit history, even when you are turned down for credit cards because of a bad credit history or no credit history. Before acquiring the secured card, make sure that the issuer will report your payment history to the credit bureau, just like any other credit card would. Also make sure that the card won’t be reported to the credit bureau as “secured” by the credit issuer. - Get a merchant card.
Apply for cards from retail stores or gasoline companies because department store and gas cards are usually easier to qualify for. Making reasonable monthly charges and making consistent monthly payments will enable you to establish credit.
Applying for New Credit
- Avoid opening too many new accounts at once
This is a sign to lenders that you could be in desperate financial condition and must apply for as much credit as you can get. This can lower your FICO® score. Avoid opening too many accounts in a short period of time especially if your credit history is less than three years old; this is a red flag to lenders that you will be a risky customer. Only apply for credit that you need when you need it. - Avoid applying for too many accounts over several months
When you apply for credit, whether you qualify for the account or not, this is noted on your credit report as an inquiry. Too many inquiries are a sign to lenders that you are desperate for new credit and are attempting to acquire multiple lines of credit at the same time. - Do all rate shopping for new auto and home loans within a few weeks.
Shopping for the best interest rate on a new home or auto loan is smart. For this reason, your FICO® score attempts to distinguish between some searching for the best rate on an auto or home loan and someone who is opening multiple loans or credit accounts at the same time. Rate shopping for auto or home loans is treated as a single inquiry if done within a short timeframe. So, if you’re shopping for the best rate for your next home or car, do so in a matter of days instead of over a few months. - Don’t open new credit cards that you don’t need.
Unless you are establishing a credit history, don’t apply for credit cards you don’t need just to increase your available credit. This approach could backfire and actually lower your score. - Be neat and consistent when filling out credit applications.
This will ensure that all your good deeds get recorded in a single file as opposed to multiple files or, worse, someone else’s file. Watch out for inconsistencies in the use of “Jr.” and “Sr.”
Closing Credit Cards
- Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to help your score.
Closing old or unused credit cards rarely helps your FICO® score. By closing unused credit cards, you wipe away some of your available credit which causes your balance-to-available-credit ratio to decrease. - Keep some credit accounts – but manage them responsibly.
In general, keeping a couple of credit cards or installment loans open, and making timely payments, should help your score. Someone with no credit cards and no credit history is seen by lenders as more risky than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly. - Closing an account doesn’t make it go away.
A closed account will still show up on your credit report for as long as seven years. It is not a strategy for removing evidence of late payments or past due amounts from your credit report.
Keep Your Credit Report Accurate
- Examine your credit report for errors
The Score Power reports provided with your Score Watch subscription are perfect for determining whether your credit report contains errors. Look closely at all the data on your report to see that it all matches up. Make sure that your name, Social Security number, and addresses are correct and current. Look for accounts, inquiries, collections, or public records that are not yours. Incorrect information may be costing you the FICO® score you deserve. - If you find errors on your credit report, dispute them.
Contact your creditors or send letters of dispute to the credit bureaus to have any errors on your credit report corrected. The credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate your claim and make any appropriate corrections. - Keep tabs on your FICO® score and credit reports
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