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You Can manipulate your credit score……..

FICO score which is commonly referred to as your credit score will determine whether you are eligible to receive credit. It is also responsible for the type of terms and interest rates you will pay on that credit.

So…. Don’t be left in the dark when it comes to your credit score. Just a few points here or there can make a big difference on whether you are approved for that loan you are looking for.

Credit scores use to be a mystery to us all… Now we are all able to obtain copies of our own credit reports. There are 3 major agencies that do this reporting – Experian, Equifax & TransUnion. The information from each of these agencies is considered your financial history. While these reports don’t explain how your FICO score is computed — you can see in these reports what accounts you have and what is considered favorable or unfavorable to you.

Your FICO score is calculated from the credit reports of the 3 agencies. The areas that are important are;

• Payment History – 35% of your score.
• Existing Debt – 30% of your score
• Age of your Credit History – 15%
• New Credit / Inquiries – 10%
• Types of Credit – 10%

So – what can you do about your credit score? First off get a free report from each of the major agencies. You are entitled to a free report once every 12 months from each one of them. You can do this right on the internet and be able to download your report. You can do that is AnnualCreditReport.com

Take the time to go through each of these reports. You will see some information is different with each agency.

First thing to check for is to make sure all of the information is accurate. Many times there is inaccurate data in your report which will adversely affect you!

Payment History – If you reports are showing that you pay your bills late – that really hurts your score. Remember that payment history makes up 35% of your score. I know people who were shocked to find out their score was being lowered because they paid their electric bill late every month! They had no idea this was happening! They thought that since they did indeed pay the bill it was no big deal. Many utility companies do report late payments and it certainly does affect your credit score.

Pay your bills on time! If you have due dates on bills that come right before a pay period for you. Get in touch with those credit companies and explain your situation and see if you can change your payment date to a week or so later.

Existing Debt – If your debt is high in ratio to your income your credit score is lowered. Start paying off some of those bills. Some folks have racked up a high existing debt because they have gotten deals from lenders of zero or low percent interest. If you want a higher FICO score you will need to start lowering your existing debt.

Age of Credit History – Well you can’t change any of this but – if your credit history is fairly young – the most important thing you can do is make sure you are paying your bills on time and keeping your debt to income ratio at an acceptable level. Stay on top of these and as time goes on you will be rewarded with an excellent FICO.

New Credit / Inquiries – Lenders look at any recently opened accounts and they also look at how many inquiries on your account. If a bunch of inquiries show up that could adversely affect your score as it could indicate you are frantically searching for credit.

Types of Credit – Lenders look at the types of financing you have acquired through your history.

Now – knowing how lenders and banks look at your credit report and the areas that are the most important – you can take charge of your credit score.

For more information on your FICO Score, Credit Report, and what lenders look for – visit: CreditTipsAndSecrets.com – where you will find valuable information on Credit Repair, Credit FICO, Business Credit, Home Mortgage, Credit Cards.

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