The Many Factors Affecting Your Credit Score
What is your credit score? Basically, it’s a score that determines your credit worthiness. The higher your credit score, the more credit worthy you are deemed to be.
It is something that every consumer needs to know, whether they have a credit card or not. Your credit score, to a large extent, will determine your life style.
For one thing, it is the determining factor as to whether or not you get that loan. And if you manage to get a loan, it has an impact on how much interest you will pay. Your credit score can determine if you are offered special credit card deals such as one of the 0 apr cards, bonus miles, and so on. And it determines whether you will be able to buy a home or if you will be forced to rent.
So, being that this score is evidently so important, what is it exactly that determines your credit score?
A number of factors go into determining one’s credit score. Probably, first among them is your payment history. A late payment on your bill will drive your credit score down. The later it is, the more it is driven down. Multiple late payments drive this score down even further. Bottom line – if you don’t want your credit score to go down, don’t be late making your payments.
If you have a high debt to balance ratio, this will also drive your credit score down. In other words, the closer you are to the credit limit on your cards, the lower your credit score will be.
Lastly, how long have you had credit? Or, more precisely, how long have you been in their database? A college student or a person who buys everything with cash will have a lower score than someone in their 60′s who has had credit since 19.
Learn more about Susanna’s thoughts on the best college credit cards and credit card bad credit from her site.
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