Whether you have great or subpar credit, this information applies to you. This simple trick, which we reveal in this article, can have a swift impact on your credit score.
In fact, we’ve personally witnessed some people’s scores jump 40-50 points in a month or two by applying this tactic:
Pay your monthly credit card bill(s) before the credit card company publishes your statement and mails it to you.
Sounds easy, right? It is.
Here’s how it works.
The balance published on your credit card statement is the same number reported to the credit bureaus, which collect information regarding your credit history and make it available to credit card companies, credit unions and other financial institutions such as us, Florida Mortgage Firm. So if you use your credit card to pay for everything and then pay the monthly bill in full (or almost full) when you get a monthly statement, that high balance is what is being reported to the credit bureaus, as opposed to a fully paid balance.
We’ve had clients who pay their credit card bill in full every month, but their credit score was only subpar to average because extremely high balances were being reported each month, as opposed to a low or zero balance.
Keep this in mind, too. According to FICO, a leading software for calculating a person’s credit score, the amount of money you owe accounts for 30% of how your credit score is determined.
Higher balances mean a higher debt-to-credit ratio, which is the amount of debt you have in relation to how much credit has been extended to you. High debt-to-credit ratios can have an adverse effect on your credit score.
For more about how this can affect getting a mortgage, watch the video at this link, or simply fill out the short form below. You’ll be happy you did when you see how it can affect your mortgage payment.
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