13 results for:

Credit Score

How to maximize your credit score

Lenders these days are exceptionally cautious about extending consumers credit such as mortgages, car loans, and even credit cards. The difficult environment for borrowers makes a good credit score more important than ever. To raise your score, you have to understand what goes into that essential three-figure number.

The score, which typically ranges between 300 and 800, is calculated by credit agencies, which examine factors that are good predictors of creditworthiness, as indicated by their records. The single most important is your payment history: Do you have a long record of making debt payments when they’re due? Other key inputs include the amount you have borrowed, compared to amount you could, if you wanted, and the length of time you’ve owned any particular credit account. The higher your score, the more likely you’ll qualify for a loan at favorable interest rates. The lower your score, the more expensive your loan is likely to be — if you qualify at all.

The links below provide information you can use to understand and improve your credit score.

Editor's Pick
Sort By

  • Best Credit Cards for You

    Card companies are getting shadier and stingier, and interest rates on plastic are going higher. So now?s the time to be sure you?re holding the best cards for the way you charge. MoneyWatch surveyed the landscape and picked the top cards in several categories. Well, yeah. At least...

    Articles | Oct 30, 2009

  • Why Should You Have to Pay for Your Credit Score?

    Seriously. Why should you buy your credit score? After all, the score is based on your information. Shouldn't it belong to you? Yet federal law requires you to pay $15 to get it. The fee is a gift to credit scoring companies like Fair Isaac, Choicepoint, TransUnion and Vantage. They don't need...

    Blog posts | Oct 17, 2009

  • Credit Quandary - How Much Credit Should Creditors Give You?

    Karen King owes $36,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, The amount of credit card debt King is carrying is more than she has ever earned in a year. "Years ago, I lived for now. It was so stupid," the 28-year-old says. "It's depressing, but I can't live that life anymore." Now, she says,...

    Blog posts | Oct 13, 2009

  • College Kids and Credit Cards: What Every Parent Needs to Know

    The plastic providers have one more chance to lure in college students before next year’s law prevents them. Here’s how to make your kid “card smart.” The era of “No Student Left Behind: Credit Card Edition” will come to an end early next year, thanks to the new credit card...

    Articles | Sep 10, 2009

  • Credit Cards: How to Get the Last Great Deals

    Issuers are now approving few new customers and charging steep rates with low credit limits. So say goodbye to those 3.99 percent teaser offers and zero percent balance transfers. “These days, you should not expect to get a $20,000 credit line right off the bat. It will be more...

    Articles | Jul 7, 2009

  • Can You Get Credit Now?

    Yes, lenders are starting to loosen up. But apply for a mortgage, refinancing, home-equity credit line, car loan, or credit card, and you’ll quickly learn that the credit crunch isn’t over.It’s no secret that the Obama administration, the Fed, and Congress would love nothing more than to...

    Articles | Jul 7, 2009

  • Credit Scores At Risk

    Financial expert Jill Schlesinger explains to Harry Smith why companies are closing lines of credit, what that does to credit scores and what should be done about it.

    Videos | Mar 13, 2009

  • Free Credit Report? Not So Fast, Ben Stein

    Shame on Ben Stein. A Columbia University-trained economist and Yale law grad with a career that has included gigs as a Federal Trade Commission lawyer, an actor, a quiz-show host, New York Times columnist and CBS Sunday Morning commentator, is now promoting a bait-and-switch deal from a...

    Blog posts | Aug 3, 2009

  • Car Loans: New Rules for Buyers

    Banks, car companies, and especially credit unions are now fairly keen to lend if you’re creditworthy and have cash for a down payment. But the rules have changed on trade-ins. Here’s a guide to today’s market for car loans: Credit Availability...

    Articles | Jul 7, 2009

  • Home Equity: Can You Borrow Against Your Home?

    No more using your home as an ATM. And don’t expect today’s tight market for home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to loosen up until home prices start rising again. Here’s a guide to today’s market for home-equity lines of credit: Credit...

    Articles | Jul 7, 2009

Click Here
track your portfolio