Factors Affecting Your Credit Score And Why It Matters
By Jerry Hayes OD | in
|
10/14/2009 - 5:21 pm
Know your credit score. Financial institutions use three main services to provide credit scores: TransUnion (800.680.7289), Equifax (866.640.2273) and Experian (800.520.1221).
You can access all three from a variety of sources on the web. I used myfico.com and purchased all three reports for less than $50.
FICO® scores are calculated based on your rating in five general categories:
• Payment history - 35%
• Amounts owed - 30%
• Length of credit history - 15%
• New credit - 10%
• Types of credit used - 10%
The median FICO® score in the U.S. is 723.
While the criteria will vary slightly from bank to bank, a score of
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I recently got a call from
I recently got a call from Dunn and Bradstreet trying to sell me on tracking my D&B score. Supposedly the labs and vendors report business stuff to them and when your practice needs to borrow, that is as important as your personal score. Any comment on D&B scores?
I am not an expert on credit
I am not an expert on credit scores. However, my banker told me that yes, using too many credit cards will negatively affect your credit score. If you have a lot of cards out, lenders see this as 'potential risk'.
But, if you don't don't borrow any money or use any credit cards, that is a negative also. You have to strike a happy medium to establish good credit.
If you have too many cards, my banker advised canceling the newer, less used cards and keeping the older cards in service. She said the longer, the better, assuming you have a good payment record.
I have heard that canceling a
I have heard that canceling a credit card can cause your credit score to decrease. Is that true? Or is it better to hang on to it and just use it rarely but use it and keep it open...particularly if you have had it for awhile. Doesn't the amount of open credit on credit cards that you could access work against you? What should you do IF you have a lot of credit available to you via credit card accts. and have several that you do not really use?
I load up my credit card with
I load up my credit card with lab expenses. Although I pay them off every month, this has negatively affected my credit score!