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How Does Your Credit Score Stack Up?
A new report shows more people are falling into the danger zone that marks them as risks for lenders. Find out what you can do to avoid this.
By Cameron Huddleston, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com
July 12, 2010
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There is good news and bad news about the credit scores of Americans. The good news is that the percentage of people (17.9%) with credit scores of 800 or more has increased in recent years. However, the percentage of people (25.5%) whose scores are 599 or below also has been on the rise, according to figures released July 12 by FICO, the company that compiles credit scores.
That means more people are at risk of being turned down for credit cards, mortgages and other loans. So, do you know your credit score? If you don't, finding this numerical summary of how much you owe and how promptly you pay your bills is easy. See our quick and easy recipe for getting your score.
Understanding your score and improving it can be a little more difficult and time consuming, but the information and advice below can make this simple, too.
Start by ...
1. Learning why your credit score matters
2. Getting information about the new VantageScore
3. Testing your knowledge of what affects your score and how you can improve it by taking our quiz
Then take steps to improve your score by ...
1. Learning how closing credit accounts affects your score
2. Making two key moves to boost your score
3. Finding out how to fix errors on your credit report
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Reader Comments (1)
Posted by: stonytony at 07/13/2010 12:20:02 PM
when the banks cut your credit line, it negatively impacts your credit score. nothing you can do about it. you can fight with them but it is a waste of time. the ONLY way to have your credit scores NOT impact your score is to PAY THE BALANCE every month. that way when for some unknown reason after many, many years with a bank, when they decide to cut your credit line from $15,000 to $4,400 without cause, it wont hurt you. but if you have a balance of say $2500 on that card, your debt to credit changes from 16.66% to 56.8%. this makes you look like a poor credit risk for additional debt. unfortunately, this article did not address this issue...it also did not address the issue of increasing interest rates without cause because of "business considerations."