It’s important to know exactly where you stand with your credit score. Although it may seem like just a number to you, lenders use it as a determining factor to approve loan and credit applications. It’s crucial that you keep tabs on your score and work on improving it every day. Here are a couple more reasons why you should want to check your credit score report.
What is a Credit Score?
Everyone has a credit score, with is a three-digit number determined by a mathematical algorithm based on your credit report. As much as the credit score is for you, it’s used by lenders to determine your risk when applying for credit. Although there are a number of credit scores that belong to you, the most important one is your FICO credit score, which is used by 90 percent of lenders across the nation. FICO credit scores range from 300 to 850 points. The way they break up FICO credit scores is 35 percent payment history, 35 percent amounts owed, 15 percent length of credit history, 10 percent type of credit used, and 10 percent new credit.
Who Reports Your Credit Score?
Although there are over 40 different credit reporting agencies across the United States, the three primary ones that are most important to consider are Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. These reporting agencies report your credit activity to lenders and credit-score companies, which then determine your eligibility for lines of credit. However, you can get a free copy of their reports every year.
Why Should You Check Your Credit Score?
It’s important to regularly check your credit score because it’s important to know whether or not you’re eligible for credit opportunities. Also, it’s important to know where you stand financially. It’s crucial that you’re constantly working on improving your financial health for opportunities down the road. Even if your credit is bad, there are plenty of steps you can take to improve it. But, it’s important to actually know what your credit score is before taking any steps to improve it.
Working on keeping your credit in good shape is important to getting an apartment, credit card, auto loan, etc. If you have an application pending or are applying for a financial opportunity, it’s important to know where your credit is and determine what you can to do to improve it. Unfortunately, it can take years to build sustainable good credit history but starting now is better than waiting it out.
Regularly checking your credit score means you can see what information on your report is or isn’t accurate. Inaccurate information on your report can lower your credit score, so fixing your report can actually improve your credit score. You can do this by contacting the credit bureau the mistake appeared on. However, keep in mind that it can take a while for your dispute to process — it’s not an overnight process.
When you regularly keep tabs on your credit report, you won’t be surprised if your application gets denied, or worried about submitting applications that ask for your credit score. Knowing what your score is can help you better prepare for the possible outcomes of submitting an application for a credit line.
Getting insight from checking your credit score is second to none. A credit report can help you determine what is helping and hurting your score, so you know what to continue doing in the future. Once you know what good things you are doing with your credit, the better you can make your score.
Regularly checking your credit report is completely necessary to do. It’s important that you keep tabs on where your credit is and continue working to improve it. Hopefully, with the help of this guide, you can get the push you need to start checking your credit report regularly. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start reviewing your credit score today!
