Keeping Track of our Credit Score
You've heard of the importance of your credit score and lots of commercials advertise the opportunity for you to check your score but not until I read a recent article in the Plain Dealer did I know specifically how the score is added up.
Columnist Teresa Dison Murray of the Plain Dealer wrote an article entitled Many Factors at Play in High Credit Score.
She specifically details out how you add points to your score on top of the score of 350 that everyone starts with.
LaToya Irby wrote an article about what your credit score consists of in an article called Calculating your Credit Score.
She also wrote an article offering 10 tips to improve your credit score.
The Women's financial network offers a checklist of items that can lower your score:
Checklist
I've repeated past delinquencies on more than one account
I make minimum payments and carry high balances
More than twenty percent of my monthly after-tax income goes toward debt repayment (other than mortgage)
I don't have enough different kinds of credit (revolving, loans, leases, mortgage)
I've applied too often for credit that has been denied
There have been too many credit inquiries in too short a period
I don't have a lengthy credit history
I have more than a few credit cards with balances
I've changed jobs frequently (more than once in three years)
I've moved frequently (more than once in three years)
Stay on top of your credit score by checking it regularly. What tips have you learned about how you can impact your credit score? How often do you check your score?