Overview
If you are looking to buy a new house, or want to apply for a personal loan, you may need to overview your credit score now. These three-digit magical numbers ranging from 300 to 850 are very important because they show your financial health.
Your credit score is based on various factors such as your repayment history, current debts, credit utilization ratio, and credit tenures. A credit score indicates the overall customer’s creditworthiness and suitability for the offered financial products.
A higher score (700 above) means more attractive credit products, easy approval, and lower interest rates to be repaid. According to Experian, most consumers can manage credit scores under 600 and 750.
You can get your annual credit report for free from top agencies such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. By thoroughly checking your credit report, you can stay in control of all your finances.
Remember one thing that there is no quick way to improve your credit within few days, but the sooner you start working to improve it, the better result you get. It takes many days or even years to achieve an excellent credit score.
But the good news is that there are many Canadians who successfully improving their credit score quickly by seriously following some things that we mentioned in this article.
What affects credit score negatively?
The main factors that negatively impact on your credit score are:
- Payment History
- Debt Ratio
- Age of Credit History
- Credit Mix
- Credit Inquiries
Your Payment History:
One of the biggest factors that make your credit score down is your previous payment history. It covers around 35% of your FICO® score. Payment history is like an overall record shows that whether you pay your bills on time or not.
Debt Ratio:
30% of the debt ratio you owe is accounted into your credit score. It is directly related to your credit utilization ratio. The credit utilization ratio is the percentage of the credit available on your credit cards or other accounts that you are using at a specific time. The lower you use your balance as compared with your credit limits, the better you gain your credit score.
Age of Credit History:
Your credit history length covers 15% of your overall credit score. The FICO® scores are based on how long you using credit, and what is the average age of your credit accounts. The older your accounts are, the more positively affect your credit score.
Credit Mix:
Your credit mix ratio accounts for 10% of your FICO® score. It means that having different types of credit on your credit report shows that you can effectively manage your debt. In other words, try to maintain a good credit mix, but not apply for new credit just for the sake of the credit mix.
Credit Inquiries:
When you apply for a new credit then your lender checks your credit, and they might be soft inquiries or hard inquiries. Soft inquiries do not negatively impact your credit score. But hard inquiries occur when lenders check your credit to see if you can qualify for a loan or not. Hard inquiries can slightly down your credit score for a short period, and it accounts for around 10% of your credit score.
Source: Credit.com & Experian.com
How to improve credit score in Canada?
Below are some effective tips for improving your credit:
Carefully check your credit report:
Even a single mistake in a credit report can affect your credit score negatively. That’s why it is advisable to thoroughly check your annual credit report to spot the errors. If you find mistakes in your credit report, then information about it to your credit reporting agency (bank or credit card company) as soon as possible for correction.
Pay bills on time:
Paying your bills on time gives a positive sign on your credit score. Make sure to not miss your loan or credit card payments. Late or miss payments are reported to the credit bureaus which hurt your credit scores. Regularly making payment on time not only improve your credit scores but also shows you less risky for the lenders.
Pay your debts:
If you are living with your debts, it’s time to clear them. A single late payment can stay in your credit report for up to seven years, so it is good for your credit score to have all your accounts current. This will also help you to avoid the late payments adding into your credit report, and to pay the late fees burden.
Avoid to apply for too many credits:
If you apply for too many credit cards or apply for loans within a short period, you might look riskier in the eyes of lenders. This demonstrates that you are looking for cash, or need money for big purchases, or poor in cash management, and you need to apply for a bunch of new credits.
Try credit mix:
A healthy credit mix means holding multiple types of credit accounts such as car loans, mortgages, and credit cards. Credit mix holds 10% of your FICO® score. A credit score takes credit mixes to check your payment history and to know how much ability you have to successfully manage your different types of credit.
Frequently asked questions- (Some FAQ’s)
How to improve credit score in 30 days?
The most effective steps to boost your credit score is to pay your bills on time and clear the balance on your credit cards. Credit providers regularly report your activities to the credit bureaus every gap of 30 days, so these steps help you to increase your credit score.
How quickly does a credit score improve?
Someone with a low credit profile can easily and quickly improve their credit score as compared to bad credit history. Pay your bills on time and less using your credit limits can raise your credit score to 100 points in 30 days.
What is considered a good credit score Canada?
According to Equifax, credit scores from 660 to 724 are considered as good, 725 to 759 come under the very good category, and 760 and above fall under excellent credit scores. By thoroughly checking your annual credit report can increase credit score by 100 points in Canada.
Justin is an experience Financial Planner with nearly few decades of experience of professional writing about personal finance and loans. He has been working in banking industry and designated as loans expert with Wells Fargo since 2006.
📧: justin007@whizzpaydayloans.ca
