?So you have contacted one of the “big three” credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax) and received a free copy of your credit report. As you are looking over this information, your eye catches a number which seems to stand out from the page. You stop to scrutinize the text explaining the number, and you find out that this is your credit score. You can’t help but wonder if your 700 credit score of is a good or bad.

But is it Good Enough?

As far as the ranges of these scores go, the higher the better. A high score means both your credit rating and your credit worthiness is in pretty good shape. So, a score of 700 is pretty good when you look at the big credit picture. A score of 800 or more is considered just about perfect, so you will be looked upon fairly favorably when lenders are deciding whether or not you are a good risk. But, if your score is considerably below 800, do consider that a score in the mid 700s or higher is considered the best risk.? So, you might just want to work on improving your score a little in order to get the best interest rates you possibly can.

What’s the Best Way to Improve My Score?

It’s easy to improve your credit score. Try these simple steps, and watch that score shoot upwards!

Make sure you pay your bills on time. This is possibly the most important tip for a better score. Make sure you have at least one credit card, or at the very least, some sort of installment loan. A person with no credit at all cannot expect to have much of a score. Don’t have any credit cards that you have not activated, but have perhaps slipped into a dresser drawer for an emergency. This is considered a dormant account, and can affect your score negatively. Don’t have more credit cards than you really need. Too many open accounts, even when they are in good standing, will not help your score, it could actually hurt it. Don’t open more than one separate credit card account at a time. This will cause multiple credit inquiries, which will lower the score. If you see that you are going to be late with a credit card payment, go ahead and contact the creditor. Believe it or not, they will work with you, and your payment won’t be reported as delinquent. Keep an eye on your credit report and make sure all the information in it is accurate.
Remember that you will probably have a slightly different score for each individual credit bureau. So, that score of 700 from Experian might turn out to be a score of 670 at TransUnion. Why is this? Some lenders only report to one, maybe two of the three big credit bureaus. The only way to know for sure if this affects your score is to get a credit report from each of the three, then compare them.

When is 700 a good credit score? Always, but do understand that if you choose to do so, you can easily improve your score.

By: Ann Richter

About the Author:

Chung

A credit score is a rating designed to reflect how likely a borrower is to repay a loan. There is no such thing as a joint score, so married couples are rated individually. Also remember that credit scores have nothing to do with age, income, where you work or where you live. The rating is designed to rank a consumer on one factor and one factor alone — likeliness to repay a debt. The exact formula for how the calculation is done is proprietary, meaning it is secret. There are, however, some things that we do know. There are five categories that make up credit score. Here they are ranked by importance:

35% – Payment History

30% – Amount Owed

15% – Length of Credit History

10% – New Credit

10% – Type of Credit

Payment History — 35%

Pay on time and your score goes up; pay late and your score goes down. There is some common sense to this too. For example, a 120-day late payment is more harmful than a 30-day late payment. The total number of accounts is also important. A consumer who pays cash for cars, has no credit cards and only one mortgage payment would be known as a “thin file.” Established accounts paid on time boost your score. Open a few accounts, and pay on time. Do not close the accounts, or you will delete the established history. The longer your credit history the better. If you have a negative item on your profile, put that item in the past, literally. A negative item that is 90 days old affects your rating much more than a negative item that is 3 years old, which may have a negligible impact on your credit score. Every month that you pay bills on time moves your negative item deeper into the past. Because the credit scoring models place the most emphasis on the previous 24 months, work diligently to pay all your bills on time so that you have a clean history for at least the previous 24 months.

Amount Owed — 30%

Aim to keep credit card balances at or below 30% of your total limits. The balance on any individual card should not exceed 50%. If you exceed these limits, you will be in danger of looking “maxed out” to the scoring system. Equity in an asset also helps your score. If you have a motorcycle that is almost paid off, for example, that will help your score. Your mortgage will reflect a high balance and a current balance. In the gap between those numbers resides your equity, and the larger the gap, the more your credit score will benefit. Paying down an asset is good for your credit score.

Length of Credit History — 15%

Be careful about closing existing accounts because it deletes established history. Closing a VISA with established history can be devastating to your score. Your profile shows a “date opened” for each account. The longer your history the better. It is also important to use credit lines. An account that you have not touched in five years may not be helping your score even if you have always paid in a timely manner. Charging something on an unused card will often boost your credit score because it brings the established history current.

New Credit — 10%

Opening new accounts can be detrimental to your credit rating. Opening a department store account to save 10% is a triple whammy. First, the credit bureaus frown on departments store cards. Second, the new card counts as “new credit,” which is a negative in itself. Lastly, an inquiry will be placed on your profile by the store to see if you are creditworthy; that too will drop your score. Stick with 2-3 major credit cards, and leave it at that. Be wary about opening new accounts unless you have a compelling reason other than saving 10%.

Type of Credit — 10%

Aim for a “healthy mix.” Unfortunately, no one knows the exact recipe that the bureaus are looking for. It is safe to say, however, that they do not want to see the following profile: no mortgage, no car payment, one Gap card, one Victoria’s Secret card and one Ann Taylor card. This would not be considered a healthy mix of credit. A mixture more likely to score well might be something like: one mortgage, two car payments, one VISA, one MasterCard and one American Express. No department store cards.

Copyright ? 2008 Wade Young.

By: Wade Young

About the Author:

Christie

Ashley M asked:


I ruined my credit in college and as a result I have about $10,000 in debt. Most of the accounts are in collections, charge offs, or past due. The only thing positive on the report are my student loans and my car loan. I have heard of disputing the reports, but I also want to find a credit repair firm that will allow me to make payment arrangements. I want to improve my credit rating so that I can purchase a home in a few years, get approved for more credit cards and also get a new car.

Al

Cindy Heller asked:


We do at certain times, irrespective of how we try to settle our debts, found ourselves deeper into credit problem. Debt seems to be never ending and it rather easy to accumulate. It could appear to come out of nowhere if we are not careful with our budget and in no time we will be mired in financial worries.

Credit is part of the necessities of life even though it can be double edged sword. Without credit, only a few people can have the funds to pay for a house, vehicle or those big items in life. As long as we stick to servicing the loans, everything will be fine until debts mount up because we fail to manage our finance. The end result is negative credit rating giving rise to difficulty in obtaining other form of credit to fund your lifestyles.

One thing we can take from all these is that there is solution to your credit problem. Whatever negative issues that appears in our credit report can be overcome, therefore it is useful to review your credit report and always maintain updated and accurate report.

When it comes to the problem of credit repair, you can either do it by yourself or hire professional assistance. Although countless number of companies provides solution to your credit trouble, there is nothing you can’t do it by yourself. You have to keep in mind that only inaccuracies can be removed from your credit report.

Credit bureaus are bound by federal law to carry only truthful information and if dispute letter is filed, they have to have supporting documents to counter it. Certain ways can help to get you to healthy credit rating if self credit repair is the route you prefer.

Initially, you have to obtain a recent copy of your credit report from the three credit bureaus and check it for any errors or outdated information. Upon locating any mistakes, you have to file a dispute letter with supporting proof. You may be doing self credit repair but the credit bureaus are required to act on it and the supporting evidence and dispute letter are sound, they have to eliminate the erroneous issues.

As there is nothing except a little time and effort on your part to does self credit repair but at certain time, if time is of the essence, you can engage credit repair agency but you must be wary of anyone asking for upfront payment. Self credit repair require discipline and certain tutorials and software may offer faster solution rather than figuring it out by you.

Credit repair software offer a step by step guide as it is a useful piece of tutorial. Many suggestions and helpful instructions are going to ease you in solving your credit problem. Besides hints, there are ways that let you know never to get into unhealthy credit again. Overcoming these difficult times are what the credit repair software can provide.

Asides from that, relevant hints to overcome your credit problem are very much what credit repair software can do. The ways and operation of a credit card companies will be taught and to steer clear of credit problem. The issue of loans, lenders and the operation of the credit repair software are the essential knowledge you can pick up.

There are planners and log in certain credit repair software to help you to chart the amount you owe and how to pay it back. Upon installation of the software, you can be reminded of things that you need to pay and the time to do it. Credit repair software can be obtained at all software stores and the activation and operation are usually straight forward.

The tutorial in the credit repair software is a guide to restore your credit standing as a positive rating can do wonder when you apply for loans and even employment. Therefore keeping your credit record healthy is essential. Tutorial are usually easy to operate as there step by step guidance to walk you through.

The tutorials will provide all the necessary steps that self credit repair have to go through, for instant obtaining a credit report from the three main bureaus and reviewing for accuracies and outdated information. Upon review, it will offer guides to remove errors and to restore your credit standing. With a little effort and patience, a good credit repair tutorial can be very helpful.

The serenity that you can obtain from a healthy credit make all the effort and time spend on credit repair software and tutorial worthwhile and self credit repair will be less tedious with that assistance.



Tamika