Keeping Score: Understanding Your Credit Score
You are thinking of buying your first car. You bought your last car, an old beater, with cash. Now, you want a new shiny thing and you want to use credit. Before you sign on the line, here are a few things you need to know before you get approval for your purchase.
First, you need to understand what it is. It is a value that has been attributed to your spending habits and your history of paying off debt. If you have ever had any kind of credit card, your history of payment and spending will be a valuable tool for many to determine what kind of loans or credit they will give you and under what terms. If you have never had any kind of credit, if you have never rented an apartment, bought something on a payment plan or used a credit card, it may be difficult for you to establish a credit score at first.
Your credit score, sometimes called a credit history, is determined through analysis of several factors in your past up to and including the date that you run a credit inquiry. Part of it is your payment history – how often you paid your credit card debts on time and for what amounts. Part of it is also based upon how much debt you are carrying compared to your current income. Another part deals with how long you have had a relationship with the credit company. There are other factors as well.
Some companies suggest that doing a your own credit check can be a way to keep an eye on your score. What they do not tell you is that the more often you do this, the lower your score goes, making you seem a poor credit risk. Only give out your personal information such as your social security number and your date of birth to establishments which you trust and know to be secure. This will also protect you against possible fraud.
Not having a credit history has its own problems. This is often a situation of those who have just left home for the first time, those who have never signed for a lease, or for the payment of utilities bills. The only solution to solve the problem of no credit is to build credit with relationships to those same companies in order to build a history. Those who have poor credit can do a number of things to improve it. They can cancel their newer credit cards. They can pay down the credit cards to a lower debt ratio. They can ask for the credit companies to give them a lower allowable credit. These can all help to correct a poor credit score.
How can you use a good score to your advantage? Having a good credit score can make it easier for you to be able to purchase those big ticket items at a better lending rate and with terms that are easier on you and your pocket book overall. Lenders look at your over all income, as well as your previous history to determine if you are a good credit risk.
The advantages of having good credit are rewarding indeed. Not only will you be able to purchase that house of your dreams, you will be able to take that trip that you’ve been dreaming of. Also, banks and lawyers and employers will look favorably upon you, giving you terms that those with less favorable credit scores could not get.
Armed with these tips, you can correct a poor credit score, and get or maintain a good credit rating. And that, for certain, will make life much easier for you and make you smile.
Learn more about PPI Claims. Visit www.PPIClaimsUK.co.uk where you can find out all about how to make PPI compensation claims and start to get your cash back.