Your Credit Score

Your credit score changes constantly, as new information is coming into the credit bureaus every day. What does this mean for you? Every credit-related decision you make can instantly impact your score - for better or worse.

What can hurt your score?

Excessive credit report requests

Every time you apply for financing, the lender sends a credit score request to a bureau. Consequently, too many credit report requests can adversely impact your score. They'll show up on your credit report as inquiries and can signal instability to a lender, making you less attractive as a potential borrower.

Number of credit cards

The number of credit cards you carry has an impact on your credit score. Owning too many credit cards will make you look less desirable to creditors, because high risk looms with the associated debt. In contrast, a person with one credit card is an ideal borrower and credit agencies see a candidate with minimal risk of excessive debt.

Late or missed payments

A lender can gauge a person's credit risk pretty well by examining how they behaved with prior loans. If you were routinely late paying your bills, this is a pretty good indicator that you'll be late again. Paying your bills on time is the most important action you can take toward attaining good credit.

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