Managing Your Credit Score

Managing Credit & Building Credit > Managing Your Credit Score

Maintaining a Good Credit Score

Your credit score can have a huge impact on your everyday life.

It can impact where you live, what you drive, where you work and how much you spend on utilities and bills.

The best way to ensure you keep your hard earned money in your pocket is to make sure that you maintain a strong credit score.

The following are a few tips of how to maintain a healthy credit score.

Pay Your Bills On Time

The most powerful thing you can do to keep you credit score in good standing is to pay your bills on time. Timely payments account for 1/3rd of your credit score, and a missed or late payment can have a huge negative impact.

Avoid Having an Account Go to Collections

An account that gets assigned to collections will remain on your report for up to 7 years. Avoid this as much as possible.

Keep Your Balances Under 30%

Make it a point to keep your balances on your credit cards and other revolving debt to under 30% of the available credit. The higher your utilization rate, the more of an affect it will have on your credit score.

Don't Close Old Accounts

The age of your credit file influences your credit score. Even if you aren't using a card, don't close the account if it is an older account because that is a positive for your score.

Ensure Your Report is Accurate

A survey done reports that as many as 1 in 5 Americans have inaccurate information on their credit report. Very rarely is that wrong information beneficial. Take time to review your credit report each year, and make sure to dispute and correct inaccurate information in writing.