Golden Rules on Achieving High Credit Scores

“We are glad you chose us as your lender.  As you know, your credit score is _______.”  For some people, filling in that blank might be nerve-racking.  For others, it might be a source of pride and personal accomplishment.  If you are working on your credit score, or simply want to know more about putting together a score that will make friends jealous and bankers swoon, read on.

Keep Your Available Limits Manageable

One of the top factors that affect a credit score is a person’s available credit.  This is simple to understand with some numbers.

• A person has one credit card to their name.  The available balance is $1,000.  At present, the person has charged a total of $200 on the card, leaving them with $800 available.  As a percentage, the person has 80% available credit.
• A different person has only one credit card, but their available limit is $300.  At present, the person has charged $100 on the card.  Their available limit is $200 or 67%.

Even though the second person in our example has a smaller outstanding balance, their available percentage is lower and their credit score will be lower.  The closer your available limit is to 100% the higher your score will be.

Pay On Time, Every Time

Without a doubt, the single biggest factor of a person’s credit score is whether or not they pay their obligations on time.  Paying all debts, regardless of the size, on time will do more to improve a person’s credit score than other tactics.

Keep Paid Off Credit Lines Open

Review the earlier example about available credit for a moment.  Suppose you have three credit cards but you only owe money on two of them.  Most people would be tempted to close out the one card in order to reduce temptation of charging too much.  However, closing down the account hurts in two ways.  First, it reduces your available credit limit.  Second, it wipes out the history you had with that account.  Both of these items will lower your score.

Strive to Have a Good Mix of Debt

In order to reach the magical number of 700 or more it is necessary to have a mix of debt that you are paying timely.  A modest automobile loan, one or two credit cards and a small unsecured loan are usually enough to provide someone with enough diversity to get a high score.  Having only one type of debt, regardless of the type of debt or how it is paid, will keep your scores in the 600 to 680 range.

Above all else, it is important to understand that building a strong credit score takes time.  It will not happen in a day, a week or even a month.  You will need to focus on the tips outlined above for a few months, maybe a year, in order to reach the pinnacle of credit scores.

Original Post - Tips for Higher Credit Scores

Is it simple, succinct, easy to understand, and memorable? Is it something people will be talking about for years to come? Does itproperly reflect your business, what you sell, and who you are? I could go on. Do you have answers for all of these questions?

A tagline isn’t an easy thing to come up with. The problem is how little time you have to grab a person’s attention. Taglines aren’t longand they aren’t a detailed look at the company. A tagline is often moreabout a feel than anything else. Nike’s tagline of Just Do It emphasizesaction and speed, both of which go along with sneakers.

Before even starting to brainstorm you should look at the audience you’re trying to appeal to. Obviously for Nike they focus on sports, onexercise, and on other action oriented activities. The taglinereferences not only the company and its products but also the audiencethey’re aiming for.

How well do you know your customers? Take the time to think about what it is they want out of a business like yours, and what kind offeeling they’re going for. Nike knows their audience wants action.Figure out what your customers want and how you can appeal to them.

Remember, feeling is what counts, and a tagline needs to be powerful if it’s going to work. The best taglines are five words or less, whichmeans you don’t have a lot of room to work with. Short phrases are a loteasier for people to remember, and the more concise you are the fasterthey’ll be able to understand what your company is all about.

What can you say about your company that people will latch on to and remember? What phrase just begs for people to give you their undividedattention? I’m not trying to say this is going to be even remotely easy,and only someone who intimately knows the company will be able toreally understand what feeling should go into a tagline.

How to use a tagline is just as important, too. Coming up with one may be the hardest part, but what good is it if no one sees it? Makesure when printing business cards that all of them have your tagline onit. Do you send out a lot of letters? Letterhead printing labels all ofthem. Pocket folders are another way of ensuring everything you send outconnects with your company’s tagline.

And, of course, don’t forget about printing posters to put up around your store. Everything you do should have an association with yourtagline if you’re going to get people to remember it.

Forming a perfect tagline can be one of the hardest things for any business to do. Just because they’re short, don’t let that fool you intothinking they’ll be easy to make. Writing one might be difficult, but itwill definitely pay off in the long run.

Hope this Helps,