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It turns out that learning more about your credit rating could help you boost your score and even save you some money. By Jessica Seid, CNN/Money staff writer "Unfortunately, most consumers still do not know basic facts about credit scores and their financial significance," according to the Consumer Federation of America Executive Director Stephen Brobeck. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp., only 27 percent of consumers understand that scores measure credit risk. 5 ways to boost your credit score Your credit score is not just bank-speak, it's a tool you can control and use to save cash. • Pay your bills on time. Delinquent payments can have a major negative impact on your score and the longer you pay your bills on time, the better your score. For example, someone with an average credit rating of 707 can raise their score by as much as 20 points by paying all their bills on time for one month. • Keep balances low on credit cards. High outstanding debt can affect your score. Maxing out your credit cards could lower your average score by as much as 70 points. • Don't open a number of new credit cards that you don't need. New accounts will lower your average account age, which could actually lower your score by up to 10 points. • Have credit cards - but manage them responsibly. In general, having credit cards and installment loans (and making timely payments) will raise your score. Someone with no credit cards, for example, tends to be higher risk than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly. • Closing an account doesn't make it go away. A closed account will still show up on your credit report and may be factored into the score. To read this article in full visit: http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/21/pf/debt/credit_scores/index.htm |
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