Credit is an incredibly powerful tool.*

Maintaining a good score, or improving a poor one, isn’t something you can change over night.

Note: Even an account you’ve closed will show up on your credit report for seven years and factor into the scoring.

Here are some habits you can build to improve your credit score.

Increase your credit limit every 6 months.
When you initially get a credit card your credit limit, how much the bank is willing to loan you in a given month, is typically very restricted, e.g. $1,000. By simply calling your bank they can check to see if you’re eligible to increase your credit limit – something that can be done as frequently as every 3-6 months.

Set auto payments for the full statement each month.
Credit cards are risky if you incur debt/interest by not paying them off every year. By saving more than you spend you’ll be in a position where you can set up automatic payments and avoid additional fees and headaches for your future self.

Consciously monitor your spend to remain under 50% of your credit limit.
Your credit score is a complicated metric that has a lot of impacting factors. One of the biggest and simplest ones to watch is the percentage of your credit limit reached each month. If you spend 50% or less of your credit limit, e.g. the credit limit is $1,000 and you spend $500 or less, this will be very beneficial in keeping your credit score up.

You’re on your way to joining the 750+ credit score club. Let’s go.

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash.