3121-D Fire Road, Suite 173, Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
CREDIT INFORMATION
What is a Credit Score?
A credit score is a number generated by a mathematical formula that is meant to predict credit worthiness. Credit scores range from 300-850. The higher your score is, the more likely you are to get a loan. The lower your score is, the less likely you are to get a loan. If you have a low credit score and you do manage to get approved for credit then your interest rate will be much higher than someone who had a good credit score and borrowed money. Therefore, having a high credit score can save many thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage, auto loan, or credit card.
What Affects your Credit Score?
Here are the most common factors that affect your credit scores (from Experian):
- Payment history. Payment history is the most important ingredient in credit scoring, and even one missed payment can have a negative impact on your score. Lenders want to be sure that you will pay back your debt, and on time, when they are considering you for new credit. Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO® Score* , the credit score used by most lenders.
- Credit utilization. Your credit utilization ratio is calculated by dividing the total revolving credit you are currently using by the total of all your revolving credit limits. This ratio looks at how much of your available credit you're utilizing and can give a snapshot of how reliant you are on non-cash funds. Using more than 30% of your available credit is a negative to creditors. Credit utilization accounts for 30% of your FICO® Score.
- Credit history length. How long you've held credit accounts makes up 15% of your FICO® Score. This includes the age of your oldest credit account, the age of your newest credit account and the average age of all your accounts. Generally, the longer your credit history, the higher your credit scores.
- Credit Mix. People with top credit scores often carry a diverse portfolio of credit accounts, which might include a car loan, credit card, student loan, mortgage or other credit products. Credit scoring models consider the types of accounts and how many of each you have as an indication of how well you manage a wide range of credit products. Credit mix accounts for 10% of your FICO® Score.
- New credit. The number of credit accounts you've recently opened, as well as the number of hard inquiries lenders make when you apply for credit, accounts for 10% of your FICO® Score. Too many accounts or inquiries can indicate increased risk, and as such can hurt your credit score.
What can you do to help your overall credit situation, in addition to beginning the credit repair pr
Pay all of your bills on time, every time. This includes your utility bills, mortgage and auto payments, and all of your revolving lines of credit like credit cards. Check your credit report at least once a year. You can find out how to challenge bad information on your credit report here.
Never charge more than 30% of the available balance on any of your credit cards. Banks like to see a nice record of on-time payments, and several credit cards that are not maxed-out. If you are carrying high balances on your credit cards, then make paying them down below 30% a priority. Do use your credit cards – Many people who make mistakes with their credit believe that the best way to fix things is to never use credit again. If you are afraid that you cannot handle your credit cards correctly then the best policy is probably this one: Run only your utility bills on your credit cards each month, and then pay the balance in full by the due date. This ensures that your utility bills get paid on time automatically, and as long as you keep the habit of paying off your credit card balance each month your score will continue to go up. Leave the credit cards locked in a safe or drawer at home.
Keep your accounts open as long as possible – Even if you are no longer charging on the card. The best policy is to keep those unused accounts open, blow the dust off your card every few months to make a small purchase, then pay it off. How long each of your accounts have been active is a major factor in your credit score.
Remember that this all takes time – Following the above steps consistently over a long period of time will increase your credit score and allow you to qualify for better loans and lower interest rates. Repairing your credit score does not happen overnight, so if you do these things for a few months and do not see a large increase in your score, do not give up. They are all habits that you will want to maintain throughout your life, as they will help you to keep your finances and lines of credit under control.
How Long will particular Items remain on my credit report?
- Delinquencies: (30- 180 days): A delinquency may remain on file for seven years; from the date of the initial missed payment.
- Collection Accounts: May remain seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the collection (the original delinquency date). When a collection account is paid in full, it will be marked as a "paid collection" on the credit report.
- Charge-off Accounts: When a delinquent account is sent to a collections company. This will remain for seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the charge-off (the original delinquency date), even if payments are later made on the charge-off account.
- Closed Accounts: Closed accounts are no longer available for further use and may or may not have a zero balance. Closed accounts with delinquencies remain for seven years from the date they are reported closed, whether closed by the creditor or by the consumer. However, the delinquency notation will be removed seven years after the delinquency occurred when pertaining to late payments. Positive closed accounts continue to be reported for ten years from the closing date.
- Lost Credit Card: If there are no delinquencies, credit cards reported as lost will continue to be listed for two years from the date the creditor is contacted. Delinquent payments that occurred before the card was lost are reported for seven years.
- Bankruptcy: Chapters 7, 11, and 12 will remain on one's credit report for ten years from the filing date. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is reported for seven years from the filing date. Accounts included in a bankruptcy will remain for seven years from the date reported as included in the bankruptcy
- Judgments: Remain seven years from the date filed.
- City, County, State, and Federal Tax Liens: Unpaid tax liens remain for fifteen years from the filing date. A paid tax lien will remain on one's score for 10 years from the date of payment.
- Inquiries: Most inquiries listed on one's credit report will remain for two years. All inquiries must remain for a minimum of one year from the date the inquiry was made. Some inquiries, such as employment or pre-approved offers of credit, will show only on a personal credit report pulled by you.
Welcome!
Welcome and thank you for stopping by!
Also, welcome to Tax Season 2025!
We provide tax preparation services based on appointments, though you must complete the Tax Organizer prior to the start of your appointment.
Please click HERE for your Tax Organizer.
If you have any questions about credit or would like to schedule a CreditRX Discovery Session, our team is here to help.
Please feel free to get a complimentary copy of our Credit Repair Guide. Click HERE!
- Clear Choice Financial Solutions LLC /Miss Tax Savvy