There are a lot of blogs, guides, financial planning classes, podcasts, books and professionals out there to help you get out from under a bad credit score. But what if you’re looking not to repair your credit? There are a lot of good ways to keep your credit at a good level, or slowly raise it from good to great! The important thig is to keep an eye on your credit score and make sure it’s always where you expect it to be.

Surprises are bad; monitoring is good!

You should always know what’s on your credit history. In this modern age, it’s easy for something to be mis-charged, or a mistake to be made; you never want to be surprised. Many banking and credit card apps now include a monthly FICO score check.

All TVACCU checking account holders are also eligible to receive our free ID Protection service. Not only can you receive free copies of your credit reports, you’ll also get fraud alerts and other valuable benefits.

What affects your score

Joint accounts can affect your score, as can hard inquiries (outside requests for credit scores, such as when applying for a credit card or making a large purchase). Having too high a balance drawn out on your line of credit can also lower your score in the short run, so make sure you’re never drawing too much from any one source. Opening new accounts or closing old ones can also cause changes in your score.

There are lots of factors that go into a credit score, and not all credit scores are the same. There are three main credit reporting bureaus; Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.  Your FICO score is calculated by all the information on file and can change monthly.

Ways to improve credit

So maybe your credit is below where you want it to be, or maybe it’s good but not great, or maybe you have the highest credit score on record! It doesn’t matter where you’re starting; there’s always room to go up. Here are some common strategies to raise your credit score:

1. Pay your bills on time; outstanding  payments can cause problems now and in the future!
2. Don’t have too many accounts active at once. The more recent accounts you have, the more poorly it reflects. Choose a few and keep them open and active.
3. Increase your credit limit. This may seem counter-intuitive, but by having a higher limit, you’re using a smaller percent of the total available, and that helps a lot!
4. Request a credit report and check for mistakes. If one of your scores is significantly lower or higher than others, that may be an issue. Again, our free ID Protection service provides free copies of your credit reports as well as expert advice.

Maintaining your credit score is just as important as improving it. Make sure yours is in good shape!