Eight Ways to Start Saving Now
Lesson 4: Start Protecting Your Credit Score
Your credit score is the number by which financial institutions—insurers, lenders, even employers these days—gauge your responsibility. You want it to be as close to 800 as possible.
Here are two things you can do right away to improve your credit score:
1. Pay your bills on time.
2. Pay down the balances on your credit cards, particularly the cards that are nearly maxed out.
Do it, say this, and sound smart: "Well, I pulled my credit report for free from www.annualcreditreport.com. Good thing, too, there were a couple of mistakes I had to fix. That should make my credit score go up."
Your credit score is the number by which financial institutions—insurers, lenders, even employers these days—gauge your responsibility. You want it to be as close to 800 as possible.
Here are two things you can do right away to improve your credit score:
1. Pay your bills on time.
2. Pay down the balances on your credit cards, particularly the cards that are nearly maxed out.
Do it, say this, and sound smart: "Well, I pulled my credit report for free from www.annualcreditreport.com. Good thing, too, there were a couple of mistakes I had to fix. That should make my credit score go up."
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Reprinted from Make Money, Not Excuses by Jean Chatzky with permission from Crown Business, a division of Random House, Inc. Copyright © 2006 by Jean Chatzky.
Please note: This is general information and is not intended to be legal advice. You should consult with your own financial advisor before making any major financial decisions, including investments or changes to your portfolio, and a qualified legal professional before executing any legal documents or taking any legal action. Harpo Productions, Inc., OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Communications LLC and their affiliated companies and entities are not responsible for any losses, damages or claims that may result from your financial or legal decisions.
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