Your credit score has a big impact on your financial life – your loan assessments, the interest rates you qualify for, the cost of insurance, and even your employment.
That’s why it’s so important to know exactly what makes up your credit score. A good credit score can lower your interest rate and save you money!
There are five primary factors that impact your credit score, each of which have a specific percentage of influence on your credit score.
15% - Length of Credit History
The longer you use credit responsibly, the better your score can be! Even if you pay off an older card, keeping the account open and using it occasionally can help increase your credit score.
30% - Amounts Owed
Typically referred to as credit utilization, this is the second largest contributor to your credit score. General advice is to only use 20% of your available credit.
If you can not immediately pay down your balance, consider asking your creditor for a higher credit line, this will lower your utilization percentage.
10% - Types of Credit in Use
It helps your credit score to maintain a combination of three different types of financing: revolving (credit cards), installment (student or personal loans), and secured (auto loans).
Don’t worry if you do not have all three, this is the least influential contribution to your score.
35% - Payment History
Making payments on time is the largest contributor to your credit score. It is important to not only make your payments, but to make them by their due dates.
Set up automatic payments when appropriate and have a system in place to ensure that your bills are paid on time.
Managing your credit is important to obtaining the best terms any time you need to borrow!
