rysmlz asked:


There’s a credit score commercial and they said that bad credit scores keeps you from getting a job. What in the world? That’s like discrimination of some sort. How do you improve your credit score if you don’t have the mean to improve your credit score?

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babydoll asked:


I would like to see what my credit score is at but I don’t know what site is the best one for the price. Does anyone know where I can get my three scores for a good price?

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JuJu Bean asked:


I was just wondering how do credit scores work in association with credit cards and about how long would it take for a person to reach a good credit score rate ?

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justellemJimsaidhello asked:


I have about 5500-6000 dollars in debt to pay off and it is effecting my credit score BIG TIME!! I am planning a way to pay it off myself by the end of this year. How long will it be until my credit score improves? How high can it improve and will old credit history/scores show up on a report in say, February?
In addition, my car was repossessed in Nov. 2005. The rest of the lease payments were payed off. Can this be taken off of my credit?

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Kevin W asked:


I have a near perfect credit score. My girlfriend has a dismal credit score. If we were to get married and buy a house, do they combine our scores and created an average score to calculate our rate? I would like to use just my score for the best rate but be able to combine our incomes to buy a better hoiuse. Is this possible or common?

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Supermom asked:


We’re getting married in the near future. We both own homes and work full time, but my income and credit scores are better than his. Should I buy our house before we get married and keep our finances totally separate? Will that protect my excellent credit rating? Or will my rating drop to his level once we’re married no matter what? (I live in a marital property state.)

What’s better, qualifying for a mortgage alone on my income and credit rating, or waiting until we’re married with our joint income but a combination of our credit ratings? How do banks approach these situations? Thanks!

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Liz Roberts asked:


In the simplest terms your credit score is your credit history calculated in figures. There are many methods which can be used to calculate your credit score but the most common method is the FICO. FICO was developed by the Fair Isaac Company and is the preferred method used by most lending companies. Your credit score determines whether a lender will approve your application or not or whether a lender will give you less rates on your payments or not.

Credit scores or FICO scores generally range form a low of 340 to a high of 850. Ideally, you should aim for a score of at least 700 or more. If you get a score of 600 and below, creditors will likely consider you as a high risk borrower.

Knowing how your credit score or your FICO score is calculated will help you become more aware of your spending and your payment habits. Let’s consider the break-down of categories used to sum up your credit score.

What comprises your credit score?

35% of your credit score depends on how good of a payer you are. If you make it a point to pay all your bills promptly, you should have no problem obtaining the complete 35% of your credit score. However, if you’re in the habit of delaying or skipping payments, or if you defaulted on some of your debts, your credit score will also be affected.

30% of your credit score is calculated based on the level of your debts. Do you always maximize the use of your credit limit? Were there instances that you’ve even exceeded your credit limit? If so, then you’ll likely get a low score on your credit utilization. Hence, borrowers are advised to keep spending below their credit limit. As much as possible, keep your balances at least 50% lower or even less of your credit limit

15% goes to the length of your credit history. How long has it been since you started your credit report? The longer your length of credit history is, the better your score will be. This is because, the more information your creditors can get out of your credit report, the better they can gauge you as a borrower. This is why it is very important to establish a good credit report as early as you possibly can. Also, this is the reason why you should always think twice before closing accounts that you’ve had for a long time.

10% of your credit score is based on inquiries. If you’re in the habit of submitting credit card applications just for the heck of it, your credit score can be affected. Also, whenever a creditor denies your application, it can also have an impact on your FICO score. Thus, before submitting any application, see to it that you really intend to get an approval out of it.

The other 10% of your credit score is based on mix of credit. If you have a credit card account, a car loan, a mortgage loan and various types of insurance policies, it will show your flexibility and dependability as a creditor. If you’ve been able to manage all these different types of accounts without any problems on your payments, then you’ll likely get a perfect score on this category.



Francisco

Cornie Herring asked:


Have you ever wonder why your online application for credit can be approved in 60 seconds? Or get pre-qualified auto loan for a car without asking you how much is your income? Or why your interest rates on loans are different from the interest rates of your friends or neighbors?

Your credit scoring is the factor that affect all the above. It is your responsibility to main a good credit score. You will need to use it to get you a best available rate when come to apply for credit.

What is Credit Score?

Most of time credit score is refer as FICO score (Fair Isaac Corporation), it is a number based on the information in your credit file that shows how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, the higher your score, the less risky you are. You credit score is derived from three major credit bureaus: Exprian, Equifax and TransUnion. These 3 major credit bureaus will compile your credit report based on the information provided by the companies that gave your credit in the past. Based on the information such as your payment history, the length of your credit history and the type of credit your have and the amounts owed, the credit bureaus will generate your credit report. And based on your credit report, a number or scores will be assigned to you; this number will be range from 300 to 850. This magic number is your credit score, the higher the number the better you are.

When Your Credit Score Count?

Your credit score will play an important part when comes to applying loans or other credits, it may save you a significant of interest if you are have good credit score. When you apply for mortgage, car loan, business loan or credit card, the lender or credit company will assess how risky you are as a potential borrower, the higher your score, the less risk you pose to the lender and the more likely you will get a better interest rate for application.

You will be offered at a relatively low rate if your credit score is above 700 and if your credit score is above 760, you will get the best available rates because you are the lowest risk borrower at this high of credit score. You loan will be approved with high loan rates if your credit score is below 600, and if your credit score is really bad, you may be not be able to borrow at all.

Maintain High Credit Score

Now you know how important your credit score is and when it becomes important and you can use it as a tool to save cash. Hence, it is important for you to maintain your credit score at high level. Things that you can do to increase your credit score include:



Pay your bills on time

Keep balances low on credit cards

Don’t open a number of new credit cards that you don’t need

Have credit cards - but manage them responsibly



In Summary

Credit score is not just a number, it is a tool that you can control and use to save cash. It will become important whenever you need credits and it is an important factor to be considered by any financial organization before they approve your credit application. Hence, keep your credit score all time high.



Willie

Ryan J Bell asked:


The Fair Isaac Coporation, creators of the FICO credit scoring system, recently discoverd that 49% of people polled did not know that credit scores measure credit risk. Even if you already know the basic facts about credit, you may not realize the impact credit can have on your life, and how your credit report plays a role.

Your credit score, like your driving or medical records, follows you everywhere you go. However, your credit score can fluctuate daily without you doing anything to directly affect it; it can even fluctuate daily! This is because creditors (like credit card companies, lenders, and mortgage holders) report your payment record on different days of the month. So if your credit card company reports good payments on the 1st, your score will go up. And if your mortgage lender reports a late payment on the 15th, your score can drop several points.

In addition, your credit score is calculated differently depending on which credit bureau you use. The mathematical engine that powers the FICO calculations is proprietary, meaning no one outside of Fair Isaac has direct access to the equation. Experian, TransUnion and Equifax all use their own calculations based on the FICO math, but they are are all different. You could have a 720 with Experian, a 744 with TransUnion, and a 729 with Equifax.

You score is sensitive to everything you do financially, so it is important to periodically find out what is going on with your credit by requesting your credit report. Regardless of the state of the economy, people in the United States and Canada will have much easier lives if their credit is good. For instance, your credit score determines:

What kind of rate you will get on all types of insurance

If you can qualify for a home mortgage and at what rate

Whether or not you will be hired for certain jobs

If you can qualify for an auto loan and at what rate

For which types of credit cards you can qualify

Refinance options for every line of credit you can take out

Mortgages For Example…

To give you an idea of the effect your credit score can have on your life, let’s consider how a home mortgage might be calculated. Assuming you are buying a home to live in for an extended period of time, you will most likely be looking for a traditional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. This amount of money you actually end up paying in interest on the loan will vary depending on what rate you get. And what determines your interest rate? Primarily your credit score.

For example: you are buying a home and need a $250,000 loan to cover the purchase. Your mortgage broker tells you that in the current loan market, she can offer you a $250,000 loan with a 6.750% interest rate. Your broker also tells you that if you had a better credit score, you could get the same loan but with a 5.750% interest rate.

Over the life of the first loan, you would end up paying a total of $583,738.29 for the house. For the second (good credit) loan, you would pay $525,215.57 over 30 years. The savings? $58,522.72, or approximately $162 a month.

That’s an extra $160 a month that you could put toward retirement, buying stocks, saving for college educations, or even just spending on a special night out each month!

Credit and Job Applications…

It may surprise you but the credit check is becoming a key indicator during the hiring process. Your score serves as a general measure of responsibility and organization. As the job market tightens even more, hiring managers are going to need more ways to differentiate one candidate from another. Also, previous employers are shying away from being too forthcoming about a previous employee due to threats of libel and lawsuits. It is in your best interest when job hunting to present yourself as best as possible to a prospective employer and to have your credit score in order when job hunting.

It is surprising to some people when they learn that credit checks are becoming a larger part of the job application process. While companies begin to shy away from honest evaluations of a past employee’s experience (due to lawsuits and the threat of slander allegations) managers continue to look for more ways to distinguish one candidate from another. Your credit score serves as a general indicator of your overall level of responsiblity, a good quality in a candidate no matter what the company does.

Credit Scores and Credit Cards

Your credit score affects the way you get and use credit cards in two ways: the rate of interest, and the type of card.

As with mortgages, auto loans, and other arrangements, credit card companies will determine your interest rate based on your credit score. The better your score, the lower your rate of interest. While it is usually in your best interest to pay off your credit cards in full each month, there may be times when it’s simply not possible, and a lower interest rate means lower finance charges at the end of the month.

The type of card you can get is also affected by your credit. If your credit is bad, you will most likely be offered a secured credit card, which is a type of card backed by real money (almost like a debit card). If you have good credit, credit card companies (like Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover) will offer perks and rewards for you to open an account with them. These perks can include cash-back on purchases, airline miles, concierge services, shopping discounts, or gas rewards. Whatever the offer, the best rewards are reserved for those with the best credit scores.

Clearly, your credit score affects your life on multiple levels: where you live, where you work, your options for how to pay for things. It is more important than ever to understand your credit report and keep it free of errors and negative information.



Joyce

Gregg Pennington asked:


When you apply for credit, whether for a mortgage, an auto loan, or a credit card, your credit score will determine whether or not you can secure financing, and what type of interest rate you can get. While you probably have at least some idea of how good or bad your credit is, it is important to understand your credit score and how it is calculated.

A credit score is a three digit number that ranges from 300 to 850. Each of the three major credit bureaus use this rating system that was devised by the Fair Isaac corporation - commonly called a FICO score. Your FICO score is calculated by measuring three distinct aspects of your credit.

1.A third of the score is based on your payment history. If you have defaulted on one or more loans, or been more than thirty days late making payments on your credit accounts, your credit score will be adversely affected.

2.The next portion of your credit score is determined by your credit to debt ratio. If you have a number of credit accounts close to being maxed out, or if your total debt is too great, this part of your score will suffer. Conversely, if you keep your credit balances reasonably low, your score will be higher.

3.The final part of your credit score takes three separate factors into account: the length of your credit history, the amount of credit for which you have recently applied , and the type of debt you have. Of the three, the length of your credit history holds the most weight. If you have established a long history of repaying your debts on time, you will be looked upon as less of a credit risk. Another aspect of your credit score is the number of recent applications you have. The greater the number, the lower the score. Finally, the types of credit you carry will affect your credit score. A credit card from a bank would have a more positive effect on your score than would a store credit card. Applying for credit with a finance company could label you a higher credit risk, and may be seen as a last resort for someone who could not get a bank card.

Once your score has been determined and made available to prospective lenders, it is often the only factor considered in determining your eligibility for credit and the interest rate you will receive. A higher FICO score will translate into savings when you apply for credit. A lower score may increase your interest rate which may cause you to have to borrow more money than you would have otherwise.

Also, information provided by credit reporting companies is not always accurate. You should acquire a copy of your credit report for inconsistencies and inaccurate items. If you find any questionable items on your credit report, you have the right to dispute them and possibly have them removed.

Once you understand the effect that debt and use of credit has on your credit score, you can devise a plan to make any necessary repairs to your credit. As your credit score improves, you will pay less when you borrow money, and you will find more and more lenders eager to do business with you.



Ruth