So I just checked and my credit score is 650. Is my 650 credit score good? Is my 650 credit score bad? Well, the answer to both of those questions is really: no. 650 is not a good score, but it is also not a bad score. It is a score that will have lenders asking why you fall into this range. Did you have some late payments? Take out too many credit cards? Max out my credit cards? Or is it a matter of having very little credit history in the first place? The answer to these questions will determine how easy it will be for you to borrow money with my score of 650.
My Credit Score is 650 – Good or Bad News?
The good news is you don’t have poor credit! The bad news is that you don’t have good credit either. You’re somewhere in the middle. There is hope though! Credit scores are constantly fluctuating numbers. With the right strategies in place it is possible to raise your 650 score into the good, or even great credit range.
What your 650 Credit Score Means:
Credit scores are figures that are determined by credit bureaus on the basis of 5 different categories. The first area that determines my credit score is payment history. This can be payments made on virtually any bills I are required to pay (cell phones etc.) in addition to any existing credit cards or loans I have. Paying bills on time is always beneficial to my 650 credit score. It is important not to allow payments to be made passed their due dates. This is the largest factor that influences a credit score: payment history. Payment history is 35% of the make-up of my 650 credit score.
The second are that comes into consideration in a credit score being determined is the amount of money that is owed. This makes up 30% of the whole that determined that my credit score is a 650. This is a tricky category since having credit and owing money isn’t a bad thing in itself. It is more the debt to income ratio. Basically how much you owe vs. how much you make.
The third factor in determining my 650 credit score is my length of credit history. 15% of what makes up a credit score is how long you have been using credit. Basically, how many years a person has been using credit, how old the oldest account is and the average age of accounts. A long history can be helpful as long as it is not full of late payments and unpaid debt. A short history is not necessarily bias, again as long as payments are made on time and the amount of debt that has been accrued.
The fourth factor, which is worth 10% of a credit score, is new lines of credit. New lines of credit is an important factor, as lenders see that recent frequent accounts being opened may be a red flag that something is wrong. The bureaus look at how many accounts you have opened recently and even how many a person has applied for. Applying for many accounts in a short amount of time isn’t good for my 650 credit score.
The last factor in my credit score of 650 is types of credits used. Types of credit used accounts for 10% of my credit score. The main factor here is whether or not a person has a mix of types of accounts (mortgage, credit cards, store accounts, loans etc.). As it is a small percentage of what impacts a credit score, it is not always beneficial to open new accounts simply to provide a variety on your credit history.
Trying to Raise My 650 Credit Score
Ultimately I want to raise my 650 credit score in order to have good or even great credit. Unfortunately a credit score can go down quite a bit over a very short amount of time, and it take a much greater amount of time and persistence to raise it. Imagine it like your driving record. In one moment of speedy driving you can end up with a ticket that will be on your record for quite some time. It is a similar fate when you begin to miss or make late payments. It will take some time to build back what was lost.
In order to raise my 650 credit score I need to be consistent in making the correct moves:
- Step one to helping my 650 credit score: pay down balances. It is best to stay under 10% credit to debt ratio, according to bankrate.com. One thing that can trip people up is that even paying your balance off each month may not leave your debt to credit ratio at less than 10% depending on how much you are putting on a card over the month and when the credit is reported. One tip may be to pay multiple payments over the course of the month if your credit card company allows.
- Step two to raising my 650 credit score: get rid of small balances. Credit reports also look at how many cards you have balances on. If you have several cards with small balances it may be best to eliminate these and minimize how many cards have balances.
- Step three to getting my 650 credit score raised: leave old, good debt on your report. Some people try to remove old debt off their report once it is paid off or closed, however, if it was an account in good standing it may be best to leave it on as a sort of reference.
- Step four to helping my credit score of 650: don’t ever save bill money for a down payment. If you want to buy a car or home, it is not wise to save money that should be going to pay your bills as a down payment. Late and/or missed payments can decrease your credit score quickly.
- Step five to raising my credit score of 650: don’t do anything that hints at risk. Sometimes the best things to do is just continue paying bills on time, and not taking out more and just remain consistent over a long period time. Taking out cash advances or suddenly putting more on credit cards is only telling lenders that something may be wrong.
Just remember not to worry too much! The only time your credit score is a big deal is when you need to borrow money on credit. If you don’t need a home or car loan soon, then you have time to be consistent in paying bills on time and paying down debt.
