Mastering Your Credit Score

Credit scores are calculated using factors like payment history, credit utilization, and age of credit accounts. Scores range from 300 to 850, with higher scores indicating better creditworthiness.

Paying bills on time is crucial. It accounts for 35% of your credit score. Set up automatic payments or calendar reminders to ensure you never miss a due date.

Keep your credit utilization under 30%. This ratio measures credit you're using against the total available. Lower utilization can positively impact your score quickly.

Each hard inquiry can lower your score. When shopping for rates, do so within a short timeframe, as multiple inquiries for certain loans are often counted as one.

A mix of different credit types can benefit your score. If you only have credit cards, consider a small installment loan. Manage it responsibly to showcase creditworthiness.

Requesting a higher credit limit can decrease your credit utilization ratio, provided you don't increase your spending. Higher limits can lead to a quick score boost.

Regularly reviewing credit reports can help you spot and dispute any inaccuracies. An error-free report is crucial to maintaining a healthy credit score.

Library fines and parking tickets can affect your credit score if sent to collections. Even small overlooked debts matter!