What’s the difference between 700 and 699?
If you are about to lease a new pickup, and your FICO score is 699, you could pay $2,200 more than the guy with a 700 score. That works out to an extra $60 every month for the life of a 36 month lease. (True story.) Your credit score can have a big impact on whether you even qualify for a loan, lease, or mortgage, and if you qualify, on the rates you might pay. Your score can determine if you qualify for a credit card with interest at 12.75% , or a card at 29.99%. Perks, or no perks.
And increasingly, it goes beyond credit decisions. Employers, utilities, landlords, and insurance companies are using credit reports and scores when they decide whether they want to do business with you, and on what terms.
So, given how this number affects so much of your life, it’s unfortunate that so many people:
- don’t pay attention to their score,
- don’t know what their score is,
- if they do know their number, don’t know if it is good or bad,
- don’t know what factors affect their score, and
- don’t know how easily they can dramatically improve their score.
You Can Fix This
Over the next few weeks, I will walk you through the basics of credit scores, focusing on the areas where you can have the biggest impact on improving your score in the quickest time. Some of the improvements can come easily, and some take a bit more discipline, but it is possible to improve by 100 points or more in a short period.
There are plenty of people willing to take your money to fix your credit. I will, too, if you insist. But if you’re willing to put in a little time and effort, there’s no reason you can’t do it yourself.
Make a pre-New Year’s resolution to get your credit act in order in 2020
Next week you will download your credit reports and determine your starting point credit score, so you can track your progress, and we will outline the factors that have the most impact on your score.
If you are not ready to DIY, good luck to you, the following link is for you: "11 Worst Credit Cards (of All Time!)".
