Enhancing Your Credit Score

Now you know where your credit score comes from, it will be easier for you to maintain a good score by following the rules to enhance your scoring:-

1. Check your credit score annually

Check out your credit score even if you are not looking at getting a loan. Not understanding and not knowing your credit score may be detrimental to your financial health. If you have not checked out your credit report, you many be surprised to find errors in them.

2. Avoid maxing out on all credit cards

Avoid having a string of credit card accounts and maxing out on every one of them. This may be construed as poor money management.

3. Avoid applying for new credit cards at one time

Do not apply for a lot of credit cards in a short span of time. This might give you a bad report of having financial problems.

4. Do not resolve to be a "cash" person

Cash expenses do not contribute to your credit score as they do not have any historical data. Credit cards may be bad for compulsive spenders but maintaining at least one card might help with your credit score. Make sure you maintain the card carefully. Instead of only using cash, you can still use this particular card for necessary expenses like petrol, groceries shopping etc.

5. Settle all credit accounts regularly

If you have a few credit accounts, ensure that you settled all accounts regularly. Do not just pay off one account at a time.

6. Do not cancel all your credit cards

People with bad experience with credit cards might want to pay off all their debts and cancel all the cards, however, this is a bad idea because you will be destroying your credit history by doing that. Exercise self-control on your spending and maintain some of the longer used cards to keep your credit history intact.

Good credit rule is to put your personal expense budget in order and ensure that you pay your bills and your credit accounts (credit cards, loans, mortgages) on time. Self-control is the golden rule to maintaining a good credit history.