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General
Top 3 Credit Myths and What They Mean To Improving Your Credit Score
The St. Louis bankruptcy attorneys at Castle Law Office provide legal assistance for those who are going through severe financial difficulties. Filing for bankruptcy is a way to move past crippling debt and to get on with your life. If you or a loved one in the St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois area are considering filing for bankruptcy, contact Castle Law Office for a free legal consultation today. We can offer help to citizens in St. Louis County, Jefferson County, St. Charles, East St. Louis, Franklin County, Boon County, and the entire state of Missouri, as well as Belleville, Granite City, Fairview heights, O'Fallon and Alton.
There is a lot of information out there about your credit score and how you can improve it. You need to think of your credit score as your very own grown-up report card. You might even think you know all about your credit score; what it is, how it’s decided, why it matters. But, interestingly enough, here are a few common myths that people believe about how their credit score is impacted.
Myth #1: Closing credit card accounts if you don’t use them helps your credit score.
No, closing cards you don’t use doesn’t actually help your score. The best thing to do is keep your cards open so that your total credit limit grows, but be sure to keep the usage to a minimum and aim to use less than 10% of the total credit limit. Also, having several cards in good standing gives you several options, flexibility, access to funds and it also shows lenders and that you know how to manage that type of revolving debt.
Myth #2: Paying bills on time is the best way to get a good score.
Negative. On-time bill paying falls into the category of “credit performance,” not credit score, which is worth 35% of the points that make up your score. The other 65% comes from keeping debt down and growing credit organically. Paying your bills on time is important, but it isn’t the only way you’re going to raise your credit score.
Myth #3: Debit cards establish good credit.
Nope, debit cards are nothing more than plastic checks. There is nothing about a debit card that appears on your credit report. It is simply tied to your checking account and is a way to access funds, not build credit..
Another thing to remember with regard to credit: your credit score is reported by three different companies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, with a FICO score for each of these. Having more credit does not necessarily mean a better FICO score, so the best thing to do to raise your FICO score is to have enough credit so that you can function efficiently but not so much that you become overwhelmed and unable to maintain your debt payments. Remember to try to keep your outstanding balances below 50% of your credit limit on each account..
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News
- Federal Bailout to Include Credit Card, Loan Companies...
- Billionaire Club Files For Bankruptcy...
- St. Louis Bankruptcy Filed For Another Business...
- Bill collectors get tough, and complaints surge...
- Crisis Now Trickles Down To Credit Cards...
- St. Louis sports teams brace for economic downturn...
- Foreclosure Proves Challenge For Government...
- Personal bankruptcies on the rise...
- Bankruptcy Filings Approach All-Time High...
- Credit cards, credit crunch: consumers feel pinch as issuers `go on the defense'...