-
Step 1
Take your payment history into consideration. 35% of your credit score is based on whether you pay your bills and in a timely manner. Liens, judgement and delinquencies are all a result of not paying bills. They will play a bigger factor in your overall score. Likewise, being diligent in paying your bills will have the largest impact on boosting your score.
-
Step 2
Take a good look at how much you owe all your creditors. Even if you pay your bills on time every month and still have an enormous amount that you owe, this still plays into 30% of your FICO score. Having a large amount of bills where you owe money also make a difference.
-
Step 3
Think about how long you have had credit. Are you new to the credit game? Do you have a long history of receiving credit? How long have you maintained the credit accounts that you have? 15% of your score is based on this information. It would follow that you cant possibly get a credit card today, pay the bill next month and expect a large jump in your FICO Score. It takes time.
-
Step 4
Take a look at your credit "portfolio". Here is where 10% of your score falls. Is it diverse? Do you have a good balance? Do you have a large amount of one type of credit extended to you.
-
Step 5
The last step is to look at what is now called your "New Credit". This is the category where the inquiries would fall. But now there is more to it. Think about what new accounts you have opened recently and how many. How long has it been since you re-established your credit history after have a negative past. All of these factors make up 10% of your score.
Comments
Kilogramm said
on 10/30/2008 Lots of great info, thanks for this!