In our society maintaining a good credit is an important factor on determining your financial life. Having good credit makes
getting car loans and home loans easier. People with high credit scores get offered credit cards with low interest rates and
high-quality rewards programs.
Starting off with a credit card that has a small balance or a gas card is a great way to build
credit. After you have your credit score at an acceptable number how do you maintain good credit? If you want the best for your
life and finances being aware of a how to maintain healthy credit is a useful tool. Here are a few tips on how to maintain a
good credit score.
- Be proactive. Make sure you check your credit score. There are many tools available for you to stay informed
of your credit. Errors commonly appear on credit reports and getting mistakes cleared up quickly help you maintain a good
credit score. Make sure you are aware of all your due dates and write them down. Even if you don’t receive a statement you
should be ready to make your payments by having some sort of schedule or method for paying monthly bills.
- Understanding debt to credit ratio. Your debt to credit ratio is amount of credit used compared to the amount
available. If your credit limit is $1000 and your available credit is $500 you debt to credit ration is 50%. The debt to
credit ratio is used in the calculation reflected on your FICO score. Having a debt to credit ratio below 30% will help
you maintain a good credit score. The best way to achieve a low ratio is to pay off or at least pay account balances low.
If you do pay off a card, look into what would be best for your next step. If you have more than three or four credit cards
you may consider closing a paid off account.
- Ask Questions IF you get a notice in the mail from a lending institution or credit card company and you don’t fully
understand it try and get it resolved. Letters and statements from credit card companies may be confusing and resolving any
issue quickly will help ensure avoiding any adverse action. Most credit card companies have a customer service department
available 24/7 and would available to help assist you.
- Have a credit plan. Making sure you are making payments on time is only one step of the plan. Having too
many unnecessary credit accounts open is an easy way to ruin a good credit score. If know your credit score is not the best,
having a credit card with a small balance can improve credit. If you try and apply for credit card after credit card and keep
getting declined you may not realize you are raising a red flag on your credit score. Appling many times in a short period or
repeatedly taking out cash advances raises questions about you finical stability. This reflects on your credit that you where
in a need for finical assistance.
Taking interest in maintaining a good credit score will make many satiations in life easier. The key to your perfect credit score
is always having a plan and staying up to date with your credit report. If you have any questions or you believe there
are mistakes on your credit report contact the credit burro. Taking the proper steps to maintaining a good credit score
may take some work but that work will pay off when time comes to apply for a loan.
Updated: January, 2 2012