What is your credit score?

Your credit score is a three-digit number that is used by lenders to help give them an idea of your financial history. You use your credit score to open up new credit cards or loans. The better your credit score, the more likely you will be able to qualify for those cards or loans.

Unfortunately, many people don’t have their credit scores where they would like them. Improving your credit score might take you some time, though the sooner you actually sit down and make your first move, the sooner you will be able to increase it. Let’s take a look at a few of the ways that you can boost your credit score quickly!

How Is Your Credit Score Calculated

Well first, let’s actually figure out how your credit score is calculated. A credit score uses an algorithm by putting together all of the information that is in your credit report, including your payment history with credit cards and loans, the time your accounts have been open, how many different accounts you have, etc. Depending on the company you use, your credit score might change slightly. This is because there are different credit scoring models.

Regardless, whatever makes your credit score increase with one company will make it increase with another, just maybe not as much.

How To Improve Your Score

Pay Your Bills

Because you have to pay off loans and credit cards on time, a lender will want to see if you already pay your bills on time. Most people have a performance history that says a lot about your future. If you’ve always paid your bills on time, a lender is more likely to trust that you’ll pay them on time in the future.

Pay off late accounts and make sure to settle any debts that may negatively affect your credit score.

Keep Credit Card Balances Low

Make sure to consider the credit utilization ratio. You can do so by calculating your credit card balances, adding them all together and dividing them by your overall credit limit. Let’s say that you have a credit limit of $20,000 and you charge an average of $4,000 to that card each month. This means that your credit utilization ratio is 20%.

If you want to find out what your credit utilization ratio is on average, you’ll want to look at all of your statements from the past 12 months and then divide it by 12. That will show you the credit that you use every month.

Conclusion

There are many other ways to raise your credit score as well, such as disputing any inaccuracies that may be present on your report, not applying for new credit, refraining from closing accounts, or looking into purchasing seasoned tradelines.

We hope that this article gave you the info you need to start your credit score journey. Remember to check out our website for all of the info that you need to optimize your credit score!