When used correctly, credit cards and loans can be useful and fun. But if used unwisely, they can get out of hand very quickly; ruining your credit and possibly leading to bankruptcy. Understanding these 6 essential credit score components can help you understand your credit score.
1 - Payment History
Payment history is the most important component of a credit score. Creditors look at your payment history to evaluate your reliability as a borrower. Making on-time payments shows creditors that you will pay back what you've borrowed. Surprisingly, payment history quickly declines to poor with only a 97% payment history.
2 - Credit Card Utilization
Another high-impact category is credit utilization. Credit card usage is displayed as a percentage of your credit card balance over available credit. High credit usage indicates poor financial control. Basically, the higher the percentage, the more likely creditors will see you as a risk.
3 - Derogatory Marks
The final high-impact category is derogatory marks. Derogatory marks are given when accounts go to collections, liens, or bankruptcies. These events are seen negatively because creditors only want people who will consistently make payments. Do your best to avoid derogatory marks because they can stay on your record for 7 years or longer.
4 - Age of Credit
Age of credit, the average time of open accounts, has a medium impact and is calculated by dividing the sum of how long all accounts have been open by the number of open accounts. Opening too many accounts at once implies you can't live within your budget.
5 - Total Accounts
The total number of accounts indicates credit worthiness to lenders. However the number of accounts has a very low impact and the age of your credit is more important. Having no or only a few accounts can also be seen negatively.
6 - Credit Inquiries
The number of credit inquiries has a low impact on your score. However, multiple inquiries may imply that you struggle financially. Furthermore, a credit inquiry only counts if it is a hard inquiry, which only occur when you are attempting to open a new account. Simply checking your credit score, a soft inquiry, will not affect your score. Inquiries remain on your report for 3 years.
Having good credit can feel like a daunting task, especially when contemplating bankruptcy. However, a good law firm can assist people with all probate matters. The Law Offices of James C. Shields are compassionate and knowledgeable professionals who can help people who cannot pay their debts.
