Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Credit Scores, Reporting, and Use

Your credit scores may be some of the most important financial numbers you have. Really. They can control the rates you get on loans; even determine if you get a loan, and so much more. You need to protect your credit scores and watch your credit reports like a hawk. These articles help you learn more about your credit scores and histories.

How to Improve Your Credit Score Fast

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Having a good credit score impacts many areas of your life: the interest rates you pay on debt, your car insurance rates, and what types of credit card offers you get in the mail.

If you find yourself with a poor credit score, but have a need to improve it quickly, there are a few tips you can try.

However, the only true way to drastically improve your score is to use debt responsibly for a long period of time. There are some ways that can help speed up how you improve your credit score. Do these right and you might just raise your credit credit score by 100 points fast!

What Goes Into a Credit Score?

Before you can improve your credit score you need to know what exactly goes into your credit score in the first place.  Once you know what goes into the credit score you can work to make changes in those specific areas.

credit score factorsWe have a full post that dissects what goes into your credit score, but here’s a brief breakdown:

  • 35% – Payment History
  • 30% – Amounts Owed
  • 15% – Length of Credit History
  • 10% – New Credit
  • 10% – Types of credit used

How to Improve in Each Credit Score Area

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How to Fix an Error on Your Credit Report in 4 Easy Steps

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According to CBS News, approximately 80% of credit reports contain errors. 

Should you be worried about potential errors on your credit report?

YES!

Here’s why – an error on your report could cause you to be denied a loan or credit when you need it. Not as serious, but still costly, errors on your credit report can cause you to be offered higher rates for loans. Imagine the effect of not having the best rate you should get on your mortgage?

Errors can also clue you in to fraudulent activity in your name. Yes, someone out there could have an account open saying they are you. And this can cost you big time!

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), common errors include: wrong information about your identity; accounts opened up through identity theft; incorrect payment information; accounts that don’t belong to you; closed account marked as open; and many more.

You can see that having errors on your credit report can be a serious problem and it’s an issue you need to watch out for.

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How Will Your Student Loans Affect Your Credit Score?

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You’d be hard-pressed to make it through college these days without student loans.

With the cost of a post-secondary education rising each year, most people can’t afford to attend university without the help of student loans.  Even a 529 plan and a partial-tuition scholarship might not be enough to avoid student loans.

While there are many advantages to student loans, and you can get special treatment with your student loans, it’s important to understand how a student loan can affect your credit.

Since your credit score is an important part of your financial life, it’s a good idea to consider the impact of your student loans.

Student Loans And Your Credit Score

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The Difference Between a Hard Credit Pull and a Soft Credit Pull

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Your credit score is an incredible tool that can build up your life if used properly and tear it down if abused.

The difference between a great credit score and an okay credit score might be the difference in 0.5% interest on a home or auto loan and thousands of extra dollars of interest paid.

If you’re looking to protect your credit score you need to be aware of the difference between a soft credit pull and a hard credit pull.  One can damage your credit score while the other is mostly harmless.

Do you know the difference?!?

Keep reading and you’ll learn the difference between a soft credit pull and a hard credit pull.  You’ll see which one is relatively harmless while the other can affect your credit score.  This is extremely important stuff to know, especially if you need a great credit score for an upcoming loan.

Two Types of Credit Inquiries: Soft Pull and Hard Pull

Here’s a look at the two types of credit report pulls.

What is a Soft Credit Pull?

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Credit Score – What Does It Mean?

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What Is A Credit Score?

You’ve heard that a credit score is important, haven’t you?  You may have even heard how you should protect your credit score.  But a lot of people are still unsure of what a credit score actually is.

Let’s take a look at credit scores and what they mean.  This way you know once and for all what they are and how they are used.

A credit score is a calculation based on information from a credit report which gives a representation of how credit-worthy a person is or how likely a person is to default on their loan.

Let’s take a quick step back, shall we?  We’re talking about credit scores but it’s important to understand what a credit report is all well.  Your credit report is basically a listing of all the credit accounts you have and your history paying your credit, or debt, off.  Sometimes the report is referred to as your credit history.  The information comes from the lenders who report your activity to the three major credit bureaus.

To quickly sum up — your credit report gives information and a history of your credit accounts.  Now back to credit scores…

Your credit score gives a number range to quickly sum up the information from your credit report.

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