Maintaining a high credit score is vital when you need to borrow money.
Not sure what your score is?
Here are some key things you must know:
- Start using your credit card! Have at least 2 credit cards and use them regularly.
- It is better to have major bank credit cards than retail credit cards (Bay, Future Shop, etc).
- It is the best to stick with the card and use them at least one a month (could be just for 3 bucks purchasing).
- Pay off credit card every month. I mean, pay it off!
- Never use over 70% of the available credit. Best, never use 50% when you can. It is not good to have a high revolving balance all the time even you pay off each month. This is one of the most important tip here.
- Monitor your credit score twice or once a year. Stats show that 1 out of 8 people will notice an error on their credit report. This is very true under my experience.
- Don’t shop around banks for interest rate when getting mortgage. It is okay to “ask” but do not allow all banks to pull your credit. It hurts your credit score on each inquiry. If you know mortgage broker, let them do one check and shop all bank rates for you.
FREE credit report from Equifax.
http://www.equifax.com/EFX_Canada/consumer_information_centre/docs/request_report_form_e.pdf
Filed under: Credit Score, FAQ
the more you know about credit the better you will live.
thanks for the tips. regarding your last point though, most creditors aren’t as anal anymore when it comes to inquiries. i found some info about credit reports here: http://www.creditreport.com.mx