Credit utilization makes up about 30% of your total credit score and yet most individuals do not comprehend what credit utilization is. The concept is pretty easy to understand and is expressed as a percentage. Generally, the higher your credit utilization percentage the lower your credit scores. Every tradeline that is on your credit report has a figure assigned to what credit is available to you. This would be the beginning loan balance or the credit limit on a credit card your credit cards. Same with a credit card. Now if you have paid on that mortgage and your balance is only $50000 this remaining balance is considered your Credit Debt . So if you have a mortgage for $100000 and your remaining balance is $50000, your credit utilization is figured as follows:
Credit Available = $100000, Credit Debt = $50000, Credit utilization is 50%.
Simply put, keep your credit usage low and it will help your credit score.
This means that if you have credit card debt , and you can keep it below 30% that will be best and make lenders much more comfortable when deciding to provide you with credit.
Mortgage lenders that see you keeping your credit utilization number down are more likely to provide you with a loan because it will appear to them that you are able to manage your credit properly. Pencil out what your credit utilization percentage is and then focus on trying to lower that percentage. Continue reading ‘What is Credit Utilization?’ »
Posts tagged ‘Improve Credit’
Cutting Back to Save My Credit.
A lot of people are learning that in order to improve their credit score, they need to get their spending habits under control. Many Americans learn the hard way that they need to learn how to cut back to help improve their credit score. Start with creating a budget that will help lower your expenses. Even if you are adding an additional $10 a month to reduce your debt, it will help. Once you see that you are not missing that $10 you can start to increase it a little more each month until you are making double payments to your balances. This will help you reduce your debt faster.
Pay attention to your credit cards and their interest rates. It is a good idea to pay down the credit cards with the highest interest rates first. By getting those credit cards paid down and possibly paid off you will save money on the interest you were paying. You don’t want to close out those accounts though because you may want to keep them for.
After you have setup a budget and started working on reducing your debt, you can start planning to save some money to help you build that financial nest egg. Medical emergencies, unemployment or simple accidents can cause major issues if you aren’t financially prepared. Factor in what you spend each month on your mortgage, food, utilities, and gas. Sometimes it will feel that you are attempting the impossible but if you start small and try to improve each month it will become easier as you go along. Continue reading ‘Save Money by Cutting Costs’ »