Credit score

[Anonymous]

I just saw my credit score, and it was 701. I'm looking for ways to improve my score. Any advice would be great. Here's my situation:

I'm 20 so I've really just started building my credit.

I have two cards.

One has a limit of $3600 and $0 balance

The other has a limit of $500 and a $200 balance.

I don't know if checking accounts change anything, but I have two that I use.

I can't really think of anything else that would effect my score, but I'm looking to bump it up as much as I can before applying for a mortgage.

Thanks

[fused]

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KLD87 wrote:
I just saw my credit score, and it was 701. I'm looking for ways to improve my score. Any advice would be great. Here's my situation:

I'm 20 so I've really just started building my credit.

I have two cards.

One has a limit of $3600 and $0 balance

The other has a limit of $500 and a $200 balance.

I don't know if checking accounts change anything, but I have two that I use.

I can't really think of anything else that would effect my score, but I'm looking to bump it up as much as I can before applying for a mortgage.

Thanks

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You're twenty and you have a good score. Any other accounts? You might get a bump in scores by paying down the balance on your $500 CL card. Ideally, you want your credit card accounts to report small balances, that is less than 10% of your available credit.. a balance of $45 would be fine. Keep up the good work. Later you might want to add other types of accounts into your credit mix. Auto, student, and personal loans or maybe one day a mortgage.

[Anonymous]

Do you have any negative accounts on your reports? I agree with Fused you may want to work some other types of accounts into the mix. You may want to read credit scoring 101 also if you haven't.

[Anonymous]

no, I don't have any negative accounts or anything like that. I did just buy a new vehicle, but I purchased it for $10,000 cash so I doubt that will effect my score any. I do not have any student loans, but will need some for 2 years of my schooling. So, I suppose that will be a "good" different type of loan. thanks for the advice.

Message Edited by KLD87 on 10-29-2007 01:21 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

Take a look at the Credit Education tab at the top of this page. It has a pie chart showing how different factors are weighed, plus a lot of links to more topics down at the bottom. (Scroll down past the interest rate chart or whatever it displays.)

You're in the ideal situation of not having screwed anything up. With a little self-education, you will be able to negotiate the best rates on your student loans when the time comes, plus deposits on a new apartment and all the other financial blows post graduation.