Once you understand what a credit score is, how it affects your life, and why it is important to build and maintain good credit, you may also want to know how, exactly, a credit score is calculated. The process is not simple, and each of the three major companies in the United States that reports credit score and history uses a slightly different method, so your credit score will probably vary slightly from one report to the next. However, there are some factors you can take into consideration if you want to roughly estimate your own credit score.
First, if you have never owned a credit card, had bills in your name, or borrowed money of any sort, your credit score is zero. While this is not considered bad credit, it is almost as hard to get a loan with no credit as it is with bad credit. Some companies may be willing to take a chance on someone with a zero score, but it is much better to build up a little credit by owning cards, and living a stable life.
Credit history is about 35% of your total credit score, so this is very important. Bills that have gone unpaid or debts that have defaulted will hurt your credit score for 7 to 10 years before they are erased, so remember that the bad choices you make today can hurt you in the future. Even if you repay these past debts, they will still show up on you credit history as bills that were late. Another 15% of your credit score is length of credit history. Therefore, it is important to start building credit as soon as possible. Your credit score will improve with age as long as you maintain bank accounts. Information such as length of employment or residence can also fall under this category, so if you have a very stable life, you'll have a better score than someone who moves around often.
About 30% of your score depends on what you currently owe. Even if you are not late on bills, if you have many loans out already, it may be possible that you are denied another. Therefore, it is important to only take out the loans you really need and to repay them on time or early if at all possible. By paying off your loans early, you will not only see a jump in your credit score, but you will also save money on interest. This shows up as good credit on your history. However, try to keep your money in one place if possible. 10% of your credit score is based on new accounts. They will look at how many different loans you've applied for in the past and how many different accounts you have open. Opening and closing accounts quickly is not recommended.
Overall, use common sense. By knowing how your credit score is calculated you can easily spot mistakes, which may hurt your credit now or in the future. You are entitled to see your credit report annually for free, so review this, as well as your credit score, to be sure that you are being treated fairly.
Checking Your Credit Score
If you are trying to rent an apartment, borrow money for a car, a home or even get a credit card, your score can have a major impact on whether you can borrow, how much you can borrow and even your interest rate. Understanding your score is important but there are a lot of numbers and confusing wording that can make this a challenge.
A credit score is a mathematical system that consists of many numbers that are used to gauge your credit risk. The most commonly used form for this is called the FICO score. This score is used to evaluate your worthiness for credit. To evaluate your score, you get a certain amount of points based on the information that is listed in your credit report. The highest score possible is 850 and the lowest is 300. A score of 650 or higher generally means that your credit is pretty good, however, until you reach 850, there is always room for improvement.
If your credit score is 700 or above, then you are considered to be an excellent credit risk. You should have no problem getting any kind of credit and will most likely be offered a lower interest rate for most of the credit financing. Therefore, it is advisable for everyone to strive to obtain a 700 or higher credit score in order to save money on your mortgage, credit cards or other personal loans.
There are three major credit-reporting agencies that will play a big part in your credit. These three are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Your credit score may be different for each of the credit bureaus because they do not have the same information about you and each uses a slightly different method of calculation.
There are a few things that are reviewed by companies in order for them to compose your credit score. They look at your past payment history. How well you pay your bills and when you pay them. They pay close attention to your outstanding debt. If you have too much debt, your score will be lower. It is also composed of how long you have had your credit history. If you are just starting out, your credit score may be lower even though you do not have any bad points on your report.
Your recent credit applications will also be reflected in your score. If you have too many credit applications made, this will look bad on your report. You should also think about what types of credit and loans you have. You do not want to have a lot of high balances on your credit report. These balances along with high interest rates will go against you and decrease your score.
If your score is lower than you want it to be, you should take measures to improve it. You can buy many books and tapes that will show you some great ways to improve your credit. There is also credit card counseling services that you can obtain in order to get good advice for fixing your credit score yourself.
No matter what your credit score is you should sure that you check your credit report once a year. This way you can insure that everything on your credit report is accurate. Review the information carefully, and if there is anything on there that is questionable, dispute it and have it removed from your report. That way you can be sure there will be no surprises next time you want to finance a major purchase.
Both Tom Ambrozewicz & Lee Dobbins are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Tom Ambrozewicz has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Gym and Hypnotherapy. Tom Ambrozewicz, mortgage and real estate broker since 1993, is one of the pioneers in using breakthrough audio technology on his web sites. You can read or you can
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