As banks shy away from making risky consumer loans, a mediocre credit history just won’t cut it anymore. To get the best rates on mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, you need a killer score.
Your FICO score is a numerical measure of your creditworthiness that ranges from 300 to 850. While there are a few different credit scoring systems available, it’s the FICO score, created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, that most lenders look at when they check your credit.
1. Making late payments
A single late payment on a credit card or other loan could ding your score by as much as 110 points if you already had a great score and 80 points for someone with an average score. So the best thing you can do to improve your score is make payments on time.
