There is no question that credit reports and one’s credit score have a much more important role in financing decisions than they should have, but it is a fact. No one can accurately explain the mathematics of your credit score since the credit bureaus maintain total secrecy regarding their formula. Like Google, Yahoo, and all major search engines, they keep their ranking rationale secret to prohibit web masters and others from “beating” the system to get higher rankings during a search. The credit bureaus have a similar focus, keeping their credit scoring system computations equally secret. However, it is no secret that 30- and 60-day late payments will bring down your credit scores.
The easy tips are to keep making your payments on time, do not allow others to make frequent inquiries into your file, and do not have too much available open-end credit lines (plastic cards). Understand that it is not just a case of using all of this credit, but having too much credit available will also lower your credit score, whether you have used it or not. Also, check on your credit report at least twice per year to both know how it looks and to be sure the information, for better or worse, is correct.
