Understanding your credit scores and how they can help you is important, and a little knowledge can go a long way. One area that many people don’t understand is what a soft credit inquiry and a hard credit inquiry are and how they differ.
Building your credit is an important part of financial stability. Most people don’t know much about credit scores, though. It takes time and a great deal of patience to build great credit.
Having good credit can help you make the most of the money you have. You need a good credit score to qualify for a car loan, mortgage, and credit card. While you may still qualify with a lower score, you may more interest on the money you borrow.
You can build and sustain good credit with a personal loan or credit card by making every payment on time. Even if your score isn’t great right now, if you keep your balances manageable and keep up with payments, you’ll be well on your way to building a good FICO or credit score.
The total amount you owe across all accounts reported to the credit bureaus is the second most important aspect of your FICO credit score. This is also known as your credit utilization, or the amount of credit you are using vs. the amount of credit you have. Your total debt level determines 30% of your credit score.
Payment history tips Did you know that the most important thing you can do to keep your credit score in good shape is to pay your bills on time? Credit history accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score. Making just one payment more than 30 days late could result in a drop in your score and a negative mark on your credit report that lasts seven years.
What to do first When you have a good credit score you tend to qualify for better interest rates on loans. These can range from personal loans to mortgages. While there are financial products available for nearly any credit situation, good credit generally saves you money in the amount of fees and interest you may pay over the life of the loan.
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