|
Carry a balance on a mortgage or a car or perhaps some other large purchase. That will help. Paying off a credit card on a regular basis is also a good thing. A balance on a credit card is far to expensive to maintain unless it is interest free.
Scores are based on things like: your payment history, outstanding balances that are current and balances that are late, a reasonable amount of available credit (meaning too many unused cards can be a bad thing), your income, total amount owed vs. income. Your score is even impacted by how many times your credit is checked, so watch out for those credit card offers with 10% off on your purchase. They usually aren't worth it!
Your score doesn't just impact how much you can borrow...it also determines your interest rate, how much car or home owner's insurance costs you...the list goes on. And it's so easy to get this now. For example, I just leased a car over the phone. When I struck the deal the salesman said it would only be good if my score was over a certain level. I gave him my SSAN and he was back within five minutes with the answer.
On another note, you can get a free copy of your credit report every year from each of the three reporting agencies. It's very important that you review this stuff and undertand what is there.
__________________
If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves.
Stangers have the best candy.
|