Taking Care of Your Credit Score

One of the most commonly asked questions we receive is, “How do I protect my credit score when money is so tight?” In this article, we’ll share a few tips for keeping your credit score in decent standing.

What is a Good Credit Score?

While there are many available credit scores to lenders, most have a range of 301 – 850. From there, the scores are broken down into categories.    

• 750 and above – Excellent Credit
• 700 – 749 – Good Credit
• 650 – 699 – Fair Credit
• 600 – 649 – Poor Credit
• Below 600 – Bad Credit

Steps You Can Take to Improve Your Credit Score

Pay credit cards and other bills on time. 35% of your FICO score is determined by your history of paying on time. If you have to, it’s best to pay the minimum each month rather than falling behind. Do not apply for multiple credit cards at one time. Applying for various cards can generate hard pulls into your credit history, which can knock your score a bit. Do not keep high balances. If you reach the limit on your credit cards, you’ll be viewed as a high credit risk. Take out a personal loan to pay off credit card debt. Your credit score can be helped tremendously by paying off your credit card debt. Taking out a debt to do this is a good option as the interest rate on the loan will be lower than those of your credit cards. It’s good to have different types of credit. For example, being able to successfully pay on an auto loan, mortgage and credit card bills over the same time frame shows that you’re capable of juggling different types of credit, and that accounts for 10% of your credit score.

Suffering from Crushing Debt? Call The Oswalt Group

If you’re not seeing a light at the end of your financial tunnel, we encourage you to call us here at The Oswalt Group. There are a number of options available to you – including bankruptcy – and we can walk you through them. Call us for a free initial consultation at 602-225-2222.