Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Thursday, January 5, 2023
FICO scores can range anywhere from 300 to 850. The average score averages between 698-716. The few people who do manage to achieve a perfect credit score tend to share three key traits.
- They typically range in age from 41 to 75
- They have more credit cards but have lower balances – this is called credit utilization
- They have less overall debt – debt-to-income ratio
Since lenders want to see that you’ve demonstrated a consistent ability to handle credit well over a long period of time, length of credit history has a big impact on your credit score. This is why older generations, who have had a long time to build credit, tend to have higher scores than younger ones.
People with high credit scores aren’t maxing out their cards. Personal finance experts typically recommend that you only use about 30% of your available credit. People with scores above 800 tend to use only about 7%.
Although having a perfect 850 credit score may earn you bragging rights, it doesn’t come with many additional benefits. Anything above 800 is an exceptional credit score. If your credit score is below 740, then every point counts. Often lenders have sharp cutoffs in 20-point bands; as 720-739, 700-719, 680-699, etc. The lower your tier, the less likely you are to be approved, and the higher your interest rate will be.
How to improve your credit score
Credit experts agree that the best way to improve your credit score is to reduce your debt, which is easier said than done. f you have different types of debt to tackle, focus on reducing your credit card balance. Doing so can lower your credit utilization ratio, which is a major component that credit bureaus use in calculating your score.
The Bond & Botes Law Offices provides access to 7 Steps to a 720
We provide all our clients, at no charge, access to 7 Steps to a 720 a program dedicated to helping people facing the challenges of overwhelming debt fully recover. Our experienced debt attorneys provide absolutely free confidential consultations and advice on strategies to reduce or eliminate their debt. Call our office at 1-877-581-3396 or email us through our website.