Something that is getting much attention in the media is credit. You are hearing things like lenders are tightening credit or standards of credit are increasing. What they are really telling you is that you, now more than ever, need to understand your personal credit and keep an eye on your credit score.
What they aren't telling you is that creditors aren't making it easy for you to do just that. Your credit score can range from 300 to 850. When a creditor pulls your credit one of the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax or Trans-Union will provide that creditor with a score based on 5 factors.
- 35% of your score is built around your payment history - how well you have paid on the accounts you have open.
- 30% of your score is based on the amount of outstanding debt you have and in particular the amount of your revolving debt and how much of it you use.
- 15% of your score is based on the length of time your accounts have been open. The newer accounts get lower scores.
- 10% of your score is based on new credit and how many new accounts you are trying to get.
- 10% of your score is based on the types of credit. A higher score will reflect various types of credit and experience with those credit types.
One issue that you may be having is that your creditor is lowering your available balance on your revolving credit to match your balance. This is having an extremely negative affect on your credit report. Without your permission - it appears that you have maxed out a credit card that may have only been at 50% of the available balance.
This could cause your credit score to drop and for you to have to start paying higher rates on loans and insurance.
Two great resources for you are http://www.freecreditreport.com/ and http://www.optoutprescreen.com/
By keeping track of your credit and opting out of free promotions you could save thousands.




