Learning what affects your Credit Score

You really do need to put your credit score front and center in life. It affects everything – from the kind of credit card and car loan you're given to the kind of job you get. That's right, apply for job today, and they check your credit score. In jobs that involve the handling of money, they wonder if someone with a poor credit score is likely to steal because he likely gets into personal financial trouble. Well, so, your credit score affects everything about your life. What affects your credit score though?

It isn't as easy a deal as you might think. Certainly, you know what affects your credit score in main – missed credit card payments, high credit card usage, getting turned down on a loan application and so on. But if you FICO credit score goes far deeper than merely this. There are lots of little things you can do that can whittle your credit score down and you wouldn't even know it. Let's take a look at what affects your credit score the most.

In main, how dependable you are at paying back your credit card balances affects a full third of your credit score. Even one late or missed payment can bring your credit score down by several points.

Are you in the habit of maxing your credit cards out sometimes? That's considered irresponsible financial behavior. And the credit score people penalize you for this. Basically, you could max out your credit card if you know that you will be paying it back the following month. How much of your credit limit you choose to use determines another third of your credit score.

There are all kinds of obscure things that go into your credit score too. For instance, would you have guessed that quitting your job and staying jobless for a time could put a real ding in your score? No, the credit bureaus don't know that you're out of a job. What they do know is that there isn't as much income coming in as before.

People think that canceling credit cards is dangerous thing because it suddenly shows the credit bureaus that they have less credit. It doesn't really work that way though. It's when you close a credit card that has a balance that you get penalized. And getting new credit isn't really great for your credit score either. Actually, if you apply for a couple of credit cards today, and then apply for a car loan next month, and then a home loan the month after that, it can put a real dent in your credit score.

It isn't just how you handle credit cards and loans that will affect your score though. Most people don't realize this, but the credit bureaus pay a great deal of attention to how good you are at paying your bills on time. Neglect to pay your phone bill or your cable bill, and the phone and cable company will tell on you. Ther’s one more reason to hate Comcast.