#score

Part of balancing your life is maintaining an excellent financial status. Having a good credit score is one of the things of you have to maintain in order to have an excellent financial status.

1. Pay Your Bills On Time

Using a credit card can mean borrowing money from the bank and having to repay it little by little. That means paying your credit card shows that you’re a responsible credit card holder. You should avoid things like late payments, repossessions, foreclosures, and third party collections. Filing for bankruptcy would indicate non-performance of your liability, which could harm your credit score. Bankruptcies can stay on your reports no longer than ten years, while late payments and such are capped at seven years.

2. Keep Your Balances Low On Credit Cards

The credit utilization ratio is another important factor in credit score calculations. It is calculated by adding all your credit card balances and dividing it by your total credit limit. It’s a good practice to review your statements once in a while. While you’re at it, you can figure out your credit utilization ratio by looking at your credit card statements for the last 12 months and dividing it by 12. That’s the average credit you use per month.

3. Apply for Credit Card Only If Needed

Opening new accounts does not mean it would improve your credit score. Unnecessary credit result in several consequences, like giving way to too many hard inquiries or getting tempted to overspend and accumulate debt.

4. Do not close Unused Credit Cards

Keeping unused credit cards is a smart strategy as long as you won’t have to pay for annual fees. Closing an account may increase your credit utilization ratio.

5. Dispute Any False Reports

You should check your credit reports at all three crediting bureaus for any inaccuracies. False statements can be wrong for you as it can drag down your credit score. Also, check if the accounts listed under your name are correct. If you see any discrepancies, dispute the information right away.

6. Keep Your Old Debts

Once you finally pay off any loan, you may be rushing into removing it from your report. But it can actually help your credit score as long as your payments were timely and complete.

7. Be Patient

One of the best ways to achieve an excellent score is to develop good long-term credit habits. It cannot happen over time. It takes a really long time to improve a bad rating, and it takes a short time to trash a good one.…