how to apply this information in real life?

welcome james

These are some points to apply above information in real life to improve credit score.

1) Always make your payments on time, if you can’t make a payment on time, do NOT take more than 30 days past the due date. Credit reports do not track payments that are less than 30 days late. As you can see, making your payments on time accounts for 35% of your credit score.

2) Do not carry a balance if you can avoid it, keep a low balance otherwise. The closer you get to the limit on your credit cards, the worse the 30% of you score allotted to capacity gets.

3) Play the waiting game. As you can see, 15% of your score is about how long you have had your accounts in place. There is nothing you can do about this 15% except get some credit and make your payments for a while.

4) Try an get some installment credit as well. Creditors see credit cards as dangerous when you apply for credit. I like to call this the ‘run for Mexico’ factor: If you decide to cut all ties and run for Mexico, you can draw out the available balances on all your cards and head for Tijuana. If you have installment credit, all you can do is stop making your payments. If your local bank will make small loans, look at taking out a small personal loan (maybe even offer cash collateral if they consider your credit history to be too new), then just make your payments. If you need a vehicle a small vehicle loan also counts for installment credit.

5) Don’t apply for every offer you get in the mail or at a department store. The more applications for credit you make, the lower your score can get. This once again can be the ‘run for Mexico’ factor: creditors have to wonder if you are applying for a lot of stuff just to build up a wad of cash and try to disappear (or at least more than you can afford, making you look less responsible).

Anyway, to answer your question directly, I would say prompt payment is better than building up a balance on a credit card, but also look at getting a small installment loan (even $500) to help show some installment credit.

Regards
Richard

Hi Brenda,

What are you looking for? May be we can help you.

That information WAS helpful!!! It kind of gives me a 'insight' on what lenders look at, when they look at my credit. Thanks!!

Yes and well it tells a lot about how to improve your score as well. You are on a mission right? :D

Hey, Laura!!...Being in the military, I'm ALWAYS on some kind of mission!! LOL Yep...this info does help. Thanks.

Pre approved credit requests are not illegal. They do not affect your credit. Only hard inquiries affect your score which drops five points each inquiry.

EVERY time there is a 'hard' inquiry, your score drops 5 points??!! I din't know that...OMG!! That can really 'add up'.

Yes this is true. Hard inquiries affect your score by minimum 5 points. I dont know if it increases with the kind of inquiry.

WOW!! That's ALOT of points, if you have several inquiries. Goodness!! Then...it would take awhile to try and RAISE your credit score again. Thanks.

Thats true. That is the reason why we should refrain from applying for too many credits at the same time. Too many hard inquiries follow a realtime dip in the score.

It seems, sometimes, that's how some individuals will 'judge' others.....by how good or bad your credit is. Just from experience.......if your trying to get your 'life together', and your credit score is low ( however, you're working at it), it just seems no one is willing to help, when 'times are tough'. Make sense?

I will never expect anyone to help me. I have to be the greatest help ever for myself. If we can take this approach in doing a lot of things, in fact everything we can prove how powerful we are. This forum is for making people knowledgeable so that they can help themselves out of a situation which an unaware individual wont be able to do.

This is an awesome place for help and support. I especially like reading posts that I can relate to my own experience, I am anxiously waiting for some replies on some questions about arbitration and a credit card. I am not real sure what this will do to my credit. If I am trying to rebuild it, how will this arbitration hearing affect it?

This is some great information..... at least a good bench mark and a good place to start...

I wish the CR where honest and up front with how the come up with a score... In the past, everytime I contacted them, I get the "I don't know" reply....