Title: 5 Factors That Affect Your Credit Score
Headings: 5 Factors That Affect Your Credit Score
5 Factors That Affect Your Credit Score
Your Bill Payment History
Your Level of Debt Matters
Your Credit History Age
Types of Credit on Your Report
Number of Credit Inquiries
Factors That Don't Affect Your Credit
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Unexpected businesses, such as insurance companies, have started to use credit scores to make decisions about you. Utility companies check your credit before establishing new service in your name, 2 ﻿ and some employers check your credit history (but not your actual credit score) to decide whether to give you a job, a raise, or promotion. 3 ﻿
Protecting and building your credit is more important than ever, and how you handle the following five factors can make all the difference in determining your credit score. Your Bill Payment History
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Payment history determines 35% of your credit score. In fact, how timely you pay your bills affects your credit score more than any other factor. Serious payment issues, like charge-offs, collections, bankruptcy, repossession, tax liens, or foreclosure can devastate your credit score, making it almost impossible to get approved for anything that requires good credit. The best thing you can do for your credit score is to make your payments on time each month. 4 ﻿
Your Level of Debt Matters
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Your debt level determines 30% of your credit score. Credit scoring calculations, such as the FICO score, look at a few key factors related to your debt. The amount of overall debt you carry, the ratio of your credit card balances to your credit limit (also called credit utilization ), and the relation of your loan balances to the original loan amount.