2. Think Credit Reports (at thinkcreditreports.com)
makes it easy for individuals to get the most up-to-
date information from all three reporting bureaus. In
addition to providing people with their scores, Think
Credit Reports also offers services that help
individuals closely monitor their borrowing profiles.
People need to be particularly mindful of their scores
when preparing to borrow money. The better an
individual’s score, the greater the likelihood of
getting a good interest rate. It is well known that
people should always make their payments on time to
build a good score. However, there are some lesser-
known factors that influence a person’s credit as well.
3. For example, many people have revolving debt, such
as credit card balances. However, taking out an
installment loan, such as one for a car or for
educational expenses, often further improves one’s
borrowing profile. It gives lenders more information
to go on, and reduces the amount of risk associated
with lending money to the individual.
Another strategy is not to overuse your revolving
debt accounts. Your score is influenced by your
utilization rate, or the percentage of available credit
that you use. Not fully utilizing cards indicates a
lower level of risk for lenders. As a result, people are
more likely to be able to borrow the money they need
at good rates.
