The three main credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion generate your credit reports with scoring models ranging from 300-850. Your score will never factor in personal information like your race, gender, religion, marital status or national origin.
There are different scoring models but they all generally consider similar factors to calculate your scores, such as:
The bottom line: Your scores may vary, but they're all based on the information in your credit reports.
Checking your reports regularly can help you see what's impacting your score so you know where you could improve. Financial scams can also wreck your Credit Score.
Try to keep your credit card balances of 25% of the limit to help your credit utilization.
Use automatic payment options (for at least the minimum payment) so that your payments are always on time.
Stick to 1-2 new credit lines each year.
Never "round down" a payment.
Check your Credit Score at least once a year to make sure credit is healthy.
Get your free annual report at www.AnnualCreditReport.com
There are many online free budgeting tools. Be sure to check out ours by logging into Home Banking and clicking on the Budgeting Tools Tab.
We recommend the 50/30/20 Rule in Budgeting. 50% of your income goes to fixed costs, 30% to flexible spending, and 20% to financial goals (or wants). Jot down your items and see how close you are to 50/30/20.