Tips to Improve or Maintain a High Credit Score
If you have great credit, one slip up can create a major hurdle for you in the future. So it's important to stay on top of things and keep your credit score as high as possible. And just because you may have bad credit now, doesn't mean you have to live with that for the rest of your life. You can improve your score, and therefore, your credit future. Here are some ways you can improve or maintain your score:
Make loan payments on time and for the correct amount.
Avoid overextending your credit. Unsolicited credit cards that arrive by mail may be tempting to use, but they won't help your credit score.
Never ignore overdue bills. If you encounter any problems repaying your debt, call your creditor to make repayment arrangements. If you tell them you are having difficulty, they may be flexible.
Be aware of what type of credit you have. Credit from financing companies can negatively affect your score.
Keep your outstanding debt as low as you can. Continually extending your credit close to your limit is viewed poorly.
Limit your number of credit applications. When your credit report is looked at, or "hit," it is viewed as a bad thing. Not all hits are viewed negatively (such as those for monitoring of accounts, or prescreens), but most are.
Credit is not built overnight. It's better to provide creditors with a longer historical time frame to review: a longer history of good credit is favored over a shorter period of good history.
The Bottom LineThe importance of credit today is significant. Overlooking this fact can be very detrimental to your financial health. Being aware of how your credit score is calculated is essential. By following the tips laid out above, you should be able to either maintain or improve your credit score. Now that you understand the importance of your credit score, here are some of the major sites you can visit to check your credit rating:
Equifax:
http://www.equifax.com/Experian:
http://www.experian.com/Trans Union:
http://www.transunion.com/Source:
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/00/091800.asp
