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A Great Credit Website for College Students (and everyone else)
By JLP | March 6, 2007
Yesterday, my local paper reprinted an article by Kara McGuire of the Star Tribune. The article was about credit scores, and included three interesting lists that she found on WhatsMyScore.org, which is a great resource for college students.
COMMON MISTAKES THAT CAN LOWER YOUR CREDIT SCORE
- Paying bills late.
- Not paying the minimum amount required.
- Keeping debt levels too high.
- Owning too many credit cards.
- Not alerting current or potential creditors if you’ve moved or changed names.
- Not periodically checking your credit report.
- Not using your full legal name in financial documents.
WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE
- Pay your bills on time.
- Keep your balance low in relation to your available credit.
- Make more than the minimum payment.
- Don’t open a lot of new accounts over a short period of time, especially if you have a short credit history.
- Pay off credit card debt rather than moving it around to other cards.
- Review your credit report regularly and correct any significant errors.
TOP 5 CREDIT MYTHS
- Myth 1: My score will drop if I check my credit.
- Myth 2: Once I pay off a negative record, it will be removed from my credit report.
- Myth 3: My poor score will be with me forever.
- Myth 4: Paying off my debt will add 50 points to my credit score.
- Myth 5: Closing old accounts will improve my credit score.
Good information. One that surprised me, although it shouldn’t have, was the last point in the first list. It makes sense to use your full legal name on all your financial documents. I just never thought it was that big of a deal. I guess it would cut down on confusion. For more on these, visit the facts section of WhatsMyScore.org.
Topics: Basics, Credit, Credit Cards, Kids and Money | 6 Comments »
March 6th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
[...] Original post by JLP and software by Elliott Back [...]
March 6th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Having too many credit cards is not a bad thing. It can actually be quite good to have since you increase your available utilization which, in turn, increases your credit score.
You can also use balance transfers to your advantage (research is key though!). Not only to make money on the side but from paying ANY interest on credit card use.
My other question is: how does not checking your credit report or use of full name lower your score? That’s new to me…
March 6th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I just bought a foreclosed property that had over a dozen liens on it. The owner did not have a middle initial, so there were dozens of liens placed on it with the same first and last name and differing middle initials. This persons credit was hurt by not having a middle initial, I can see where yours could be hurt by not using it when signing a document
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:37 am
“Noah Says:
March 6th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
Having too many credit cards is not a bad thing. It can actually be quite good to have since you increase your available utilization which, in turn, increases your credit score.”
You are correct as having too many credit cards is not a bad thing, however, if you have outstanding balances on most of them, paying them off month to month and you have so many cards you can only cover the interest, you may not be doing so well with your credit score.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Credit Solutions
http://www.credittrained.com
With the current credit crisis you need to take charge of your credit. Learn what you can do to understand the credit process and what you can do to track and repair problems that may appear on your credit report. Easy to understand and implement. Hidden secrets reveled. How the process works and what you can do.
September 7th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
What you have shared with us is so true. I once believed that when I paid a 7 years old loan, it will boost my credit score and be deleted on my credit report. To my dismay it was not the case.
No matter, I already transformed for the better and I can say that I am financially healthy. Not much but I am debt-free!
I would also like to say that, today paying off debt and having a proper balance of spending and saving will really help alleviate the credit crunch.