4 tips to keep up your credit score

Thursday, April 12, 2012

4 tips to keep up your credit score

I'm a Dave Ramsey fan, but I completely disagree with him on the subject of credit scores.

He thinks that a credit score is just an "I love debt" score, and that having no credit score is just as good as having a high one.

I disagree - many things depend on having a high credit score. For instance, many employers will pull your credit score as part of the application process. If they don't get this information, they may pull your application out of the file and into the trash!

(I was surprised that Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom agreed with me on this! Check my review of her book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget.)

Here are four tips from Credit Sesame to keep your credit score high:

Pay your bills on time, all the time -- every time.
Watch your credit card balances, use as little of your available credit as possible and your credit score will thank you.
Avoid credit card debt, only charge what you can comfortably afford to pay off at the end of each month.
Maintain a good mix of credit including credit cards, auto loans, mortgage, etc., and manage them wisely.

Credit Sesame is a 100% free personal finance credit and debt management tool with no credit card required or trial period. Credit Sesame makes managing personal credit online, owing less in interest and saving on mortgage, loan, or credit card payments easy! It gives an instant view of consumer's credit, including Experian credit score, refreshed monthly and for free, as well as debt analysis with personalized offers tailored to consumer’s credit profile.

Give Credit Sesame a try!

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1 comments:

Anonymous, May 30, 2013 at 3:02 PM: So frustrated. I too am a DR fan, but I don't like it when he calls people stupid, as he just did for someone saying that they were a new college grad and needed a credit score for employment and to rent an apartment. I agree!! He told that person they were "stupid" and that "I own a lot of real estate and never had a credit score"...yeah, and he's Dave Ramsey! Insurance rates are even dependent on CS these days. He told that person "I wouldn't work for an employer stupid enough to base employment on a credit score". He said the same with renting an apartment. We need a reality show where DR goes with people to try to live in this real world without a CS.