Posts tagged credit report score
Free Credit Score: Check your credit report score easily
Jul 30th
Be careful when you search for free credit score online. This is important part of your financial status and be sure before making any decision.
Have You Checked Your Credit Report Score?
Feb 1st
Knowing what your credit report says is an important issue that not very many people take seriously.
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Help Me Find My Credit Report
Jan 20th
I get asked often by people how to find my credit report, or where can I find my credit report. There are actually three main ways that you can find your credit report and two of those methods are totally without cost. Having your credit report can be very useful as you’ll need to know what is on there, good and bad for the next time that you want to finance something. It is true that there may be inaccurate information on your credit report and that you can get it fixed if you know that it’s there. In fact, its fair to say that most credit reports contain inaccurate information that should be fixed by the consumer.
Can I find my credit report? You can. It’s actually quite an easy process and a free one if you use one of the two methods that I am going to outline. First, you can go to the website set up by the credit bureaus to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act that gives you access to one free credit report from all three bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax, once per year. The website is www.annualcreditreport.com and you can simply enter and verify your information and you will be able to look at your credit report online.
Are there any other ways to find my free credit report? For a free report, there is another way. Apply for something and get denied. Anytime that you are denied credit based upon your credit report you have a right to obtain a free copy of said report so that you can see what the negative information was that got you denied. When you are denied for something you should receive some mail telling you how to do this about a week after applying for whatever it is that you were trying to finance. Simply follow the instructions to obtain your free report.
How can I find out my credit report score? You can see your score on your credit report when you access it. It will be a number from 300 to 850. Anything around 600 is considered borderline credit and anything above 650 is considered good credit. Great credit is 750 and above. On the other side of the score, 575 is considered fair credit and anything below 550 is poor credit. If you have a score that is below 500 then you have abysmal credit and will not even be able to get financed for a hamburger from that place with the golden arches.
Are there any other ways to access my credit report? If you choose you can pay for a credit report service. I use one, and it is around 20 bucks a month to view a copy of my credit report any time I choose. I find it very useful when I am financing something to see how it is affecting my score and to see how I can increase the points that I am gaining by paying on time. These are the ways to get a copy of your credit report so that you can view it to see if everything is accurate or fix any negative information or see how a new account that you have is affecting your credit score.
Understanding Your Credit Report Score
Jan 6th
Your credit report score (or Fico score
Your credit report contains all of the information being reported about you by your creditors and other financial institutions. The information on a credit report is then used to calculate your FICO credit score, created by the Fair Isaac Corporation as a way to help creditors objectively evaluate the risk of lending money to the public. Your credit score is used as a benchmark by lenders when making decisions to loan you money or extend a line of credit; the higher your credit score, the better credit risk you are considered to be. Fico scores range from 300 to 850. The actual equation Fair Isaac uses to determine your score is a closely-guarded secret, but there are many factors that are known to influence your credit score.
While obtaining a copy of you credit report is absolutely free (via annualcreditreport.com), your credit score is not. You are given the option of purchasing your score from each of the bureaus at that point, but I recommend buying directly from Fair Isaac at myFico.com
How Your Credit Report Score (Fico Score) Is Calculated
A number of factors go into determining your credit score. While the exact formula is a secret, here’s a general guideline.
Payment History (35%)
This includes the number of accounts you have that are being paid as agreed, any delinquent accounts, and any negative information and collections.
Outstanding Balances (30%)
This includes how much you owe on your open accounts, what time of credit lines you have, if you have over-extended credit limits, how much you still owe on installment loans versus the original balances, and how many of your accounts have a zero balance.
Length of Credit History (15%)
This includes the total amount of time your credit has been tracked, how long since your accounts were initially opened, and the last date of activity.
Types of Credit (10%)
This includes the number and types of accounts you have such as (installment loans, mortgage loans, and revolving accounts)
New Credit (10%)
This includes how many accounts you have opened recently and the ratio of new accounts to total accounts, the amount of recent credit inquiries, and the time elapsed since new accounts or inquiries,
Repairing Bad Credit
Those who have less-than-perfect credit can work to improve their scores and open the door to more financing options such as a lower mortgage interest rate or a better credit card. Some steps to improving your credit score include:
- Pay debts on time, every single month
- Keep your balances at or below 30% of your total credit limit
- Do not seek out new lines of credit
- Do not close old accounts, especially your longest-running accounts
- Correct any inaccurate information contained in your credit report (errors are surprisingly common)
Maintaining good credit is extremely important to your overall financial health. Those with good credit have better options for loans and have a better chance of getting approved for various types of financing. But maintaining your credit score is also very important for other reasons. Your credit score may also impact your insurance rates and your ability to get a job. Borrowing wisely and repaying what you owe in a timely manner will get you far in life.
