Cents Savvy Michigan Credit Counseling

"When you know better you do better...credit scores" - Reasons that affect credit scores

We've all known that we should make sure to pay bills on time and to try not to open too many credit lines at once benefits healthy credit. Also checking our credit reports annually for mistakes can contribute to detecting and eliminating discrepancies that impact our credit history. Working towards and keeping a good credit score can help us get better rates on loans, credit card offers, and better limits on those loans. It’s important to understand which factors affect our credit score since we have control over many of these aspects.
Persons with a credit score of 800 or more – individuals we call FICO high go-getters – have outstanding credit performances that we can all absorb. In this post, we’ll share these high-attaining credit behaviors that will get you on the route to credit repair.

1. Eliminating all types of debt
Unless you’re certain you’ll be living a debt-free lifestyle for several years to come and won’t need to apply for credit for any reason, you’ll want to hold on to at least one loan and one credit card. For the reason that you need some kind of active credit history to keep a healthy credit score. Display on-time payments and an adequate amount of available credit from a variety of sources and types. These activities are factors that contribute to a high credit score.


2. Closing out unused credit card accounts
Even if you’ve worked hard enough to pay off your credit card balances and have been consistent about keeping a zero balance on the account, you must know you shouldn’t get the chance to close accounts entirely. Your credit score may improve when you have open lines of credit that are left unused because your credit utilization ratio will be lower — an important factor that affects the credit score.
Keep old, idle accounts, because they display valuable history and improve credit utilization proportion.

3. Unpaid parking tickets or library fines
This largely depends on where you live, since some government organizations monitoring fines and fees will report any unpaid balances to a credit bureau while others simply send a series of notices. Take care of any parking tickets and those other local fees on time to prevent paying late payment fees and losing points on your credit score.

4. Requesting a credit limit increase
When requesting a credit limit increase on existing credit cards, it’s important to know that the credit card company might perform a hard inquiry (i.e. run a credit check) to get it approved. Each credit card company handles limit increases differently, but many will run a credit check to make sure the client is still suitable for the increased line of credit. It’s a good idea to check in with your credit card company about how they handle a request for an increase. If you’re a long-time and valued customer, ask if they can perform the increase without a hard inquiry on your report.

5. Maxing out credit cards
Even though they may not be going over the limit on a credit card, the fact you are using up all of your available credit on that one card will affect your credit score. The level of debt is considered based on not only the total debt amount but also the credit utilization rate on different accounts. Using all your credit cards limit could be a red flag that you are in over your heads financially and can lower your credit score. Monitor credit card balances cautiously to make sure they aren’t slowly going up to the limit. A great trick to increase the score is to pay all balances down to below 30% of the available credit line and never charge any more than that even if you pay your bill off in full every end of the month.

Keeping your credit score in good shape is easier when you know which factors affect your score and how to fix any errors on your report.

We have various credit repair programs that are existing to help you overcome your credit condition and place you back on the path to financial victory. Real credit restoration is not a once size fits all model and we adapt your needs to the right package, but most people can begin for just $35 per month.

Help is just a phone call away or you can fill out an appointment request. Contact us to schedule a free consultation today.