The Perfect FICO 850
A good credit score could save you thousands of dollars over your lifetime.
The higher your credit score, the more likely you will qualify for the best interest rates available. That means a cheaper mortgage and better credit card rewards.
It takes time and patience to build a great credit score. When you do finally get that three digit number over 800, you'll be able to join the credit elite in The 800+ Club.
Want to join the ranks of the credit elite and enjoy a richer life? We'll help you get there.
Why do I need a credit score anyway?
Lower Insurance Rates: Did you know that some (if not all) insurance companies run a credit check on you when you purchase insurance? It turns out that having a good credit score will save you 15% or more on car insurance — thanks, Geico!
Buyer Protection: When you use a credit card for your purchases, you get outstanding buyer protection, something using a debit card or cash can't bestow.
Help with Renting: If you're looking to rent a place to live, the landlord will run a credit check and might deny you housing because of a bad score. I'm a landlord, and I always run a credit check on potential tenants.
Lower Interest Rates on Houses and Cars: Yes, the better your credit score, the lower your interest rates. Might not seem fair to everyone, but that's the way it is, and I think the best reason to care about your credit score.
Employment: This one came as a shock to me, but it turns out that you could be denied a job because of your credit score. It's an awful truth, but adds weight to the reason you need a kick-ass credit score: makes you look responsible to employers.
What does it take to join the ranks of the credit elite?
Unless you've been optimizing your credit score for awhile, it's likely that it needs a bit of work. You can't fix what isn't measured and once you measure it's important to understand what determines your credit score.
Check your credit score: First order of business is to check what your score is. If you haven't checked it in a while because you're terrified at what you might see, then it's time to face the music.
We really like Credit Karma because they break your score down for you and where you can improve it. They're free of course, and their check doesn't show up on your credit report. Boom!
Set Up Automatic Bill Pay: This is arguably the most crucial mistake people make. If you don't pay your bills on time, it's going to affect your score in a very big way. Even if you're the best and most punctual bill payer, you never know what might happen in the future. This is why it's a good idea to make all your bill payments automatic.
Increase Your Credit: Debt to credit ratio is the amount of available credit versus used credit. Lowering your credit utilization will increase your credit score.
For example, if you have a credit card with a $1,000 credit limit, and you spent $500 (leaving your an available balance of $500), you are using 50%.
The goal here is to keep it under 20% at all times. Also, the more credit you have, the higher your score.
The most important thing you can do here is to keep your debt low by setting your limits. Right now I have a credit card that has a $3,000 credit limit. However, I imagine that I can only spend $600 a month (and immediately pay it off).
Where do you fall?
By the digits
- Less than 1% of the population can boast about their perfect score.
- The US average FICO score has reached 700
- For 2016, Minnesota has the highest average score of 707
- An estimated 19% of the population, or 45 million adults, don't a credit score at all.
- 1 in 10 has been denied a job because of a bad score or something on their credit report.
Tools of the Trade
We use credit cards to buy everything these days - groceries, drinks with co-workers, cat beds, gum, sweater vests and all the other things that make us happy.
Then the end of the month rolls around. Your bill comes, and you come to the dreaded realization that you blew your budget once again and your credit card bill is more than you can handle.
It's happened to the best of us, but it doesn't have to happen to you anymore.
Debitize is a new way to pay off credit cards on time and responsibly. It's a free online tool and app makes the use of a credit card like a debit card by transferring money out of your checking account with each purchase and immediately pays off the credit card.
It's a great way to protect yourself from not being able to cover your expenses and it optimizes your credit score as an awesome added benefit.
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