The Complete Guide to Building and Maintaining Excellent Credit: Expert Tips and Strategies for 2025

Writer: Joeziel Vazquez

CEO & Board Certified Credit Consultant (BCCC, CCSC, CCRS)

17 Years Experience

Published: December 31st 2025 

Reading Time: 35 minutes

Your credit score isn't just a number. It's the financial passport that opens doors to better interest rates, higher credit limits, rental approvals, and even job opportunities. After 17 years working with over 79,000 clients at Credlocity, I've seen firsthand how the right strategies can transform someone's financial life. More importantly, I've witnessed what happens when people follow the wrong advice or fall victim to predatory practices in the credit repair industry.

Back in 2008, I was one of those victims. A credit repair company promised me the world and delivered nothing but empty promises and wasted money. That experience lit a fire under me to create something better, something ethical, something that actually works. Today, I'm going to share everything I've learned about building and maintaining excellent credit, cutting through the noise and giving you strategies that actually produce results.

Understanding Your Credit Score: The Foundation

Before we dive into improvement strategies, you need to understand what you're working with. Your credit score is calculated using complex algorithms that analyze your credit history, but at its core, it's predicting one simple thing: will you pay your bills on time?

Two major scoring models dominate the industry: FICO and VantageScore. While they use different formulas and weigh factors differently, they're both looking at similar information from your credit reports at Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. The good news? Actions that improve one score typically improve the other. For a deep dive into how credit scores actually work, check out our comprehensive guide on understanding credit scores.

FICO scores, used by about 90% of lenders, range from 300 to 850 and break down like this: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%), and credit mix (10%). VantageScore uses six factors with different weights: payment history (extremely influential), age and type of credit (highly influential), percentage of credit used (highly influential), total balances and debt (moderately influential), recent credit behavior (less influential), and available credit (less influential). If you want to understand the specific differences between these scoring models and which one matters more for your situation, our detailed article on what is VantageScore breaks down everything you need to know.

Understanding these models helps you focus your energy where it matters most. If you're struggling with late payments, that's your priority. If your credit utilization is sky-high, that's where you need to concentrate. The specificity matters because generic advice won't move the needle on your unique situation. You can even use our FICO Score Predictor tool to see how different actions might impact your score before you take them.

Payment History: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

Nothing impacts your credit score more than your payment history. Nothing. I've seen clients with perfect credit utilization, excellent credit mix, and long histories tank their scores with a single 30-day late payment. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau emphasizes this consistently: paying on time is the single most important factor in building good credit.

Here's what many people don't realize: payment history isn't just about avoiding late payments. It's about establishing a pattern of reliability that spans years. A late payment from seven years ago hurts less than one from last month, but both still matter. The Federal Trade Commission notes that negative information generally stays on your credit reports for seven years, though its impact diminishes over time.

Setting up automatic payments is non-negotiable in today's world. I don't care how organized you think you are or how good your memory is. Life happens. You get busy, you forget, and suddenly you're 30 days late on a payment you could have easily made. Every single account that reports to the credit bureaus should have either automatic minimum payments or a robust alert system that gives you multiple warnings.

But here's where it gets interesting: not all payments build credit. Your rent, utilities, phone bill, and streaming services typically don't report to the credit bureaus unless they go into collections. That's changing, though. Tools like Experian Boost allow you to get credit for these on-time payments, potentially increasing your scores instantly. At Credlocity, we've helped clients leverage these alternative payment histories to build credit faster than traditional methods alone.

For those recovering from late payments, the path forward is straightforward but requires patience. You can't remove accurate late payments from your credit reports. What you can do is overwhelm them with positive payment history. The more recent positive data you add, the less those old late payments matter. It's mathematical. If you had one late payment three years ago and 35 on-time payments since, the pattern speaks for itself.

Consider this scenario from a recent client: Sarah had three late payments from 2022 when she was dealing with a medical emergency. She came to us with a 620 credit score, terrified she'd ruined her financial future. We helped her establish a pattern of perfect payments across all accounts, added her as an authorized user on her mother's well-managed credit card, and used Experian Boost to add utility payments. Eighteen months later, her score was 715. The late payments were still there, but they'd been mathematically overwhelmed by positive data.

Credit Utilization: The Quick Win

If payment history is the foundation, credit utilization is the quick fix that can boost your score substantially in a matter of weeks. Credit utilization—the percentage of your available credit that you're using—accounts for about 30% of your FICO Score and is highly influential in VantageScore calculations. For a complete breakdown of how this works and advanced strategies for optimizing it, read our detailed credit utilization ratio guide.

The often-cited 30% rule is a decent guideline, but I'll be blunt: it's not optimal. Research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau indicates that the highest-scoring consumers typically use less than 10% of their available credit. I've seen scores jump 40-50 points when clients drop their utilization from 60% to below 10%.

Here's what makes credit utilization particularly powerful: it has no memory. Unlike late payments that haunt you for seven years, high utilization only matters in the present. Pay down your balances, and your score can improve as soon as the new balance reports to the bureaus. This typically happens within 30 days of your statement closing date.

Strategic timing matters more than most people realize. If you charge $2,000 to your $5,000-limit credit card throughout the month and pay it off in full before the statement closes, your credit report shows $0 balance and 0% utilization. Your score doesn't care that you spent $2,000; it only cares what your balance was when the issuer reported to the bureaus.

I recommend a two-pronged approach to credit utilization. First, pay down existing balances as aggressively as your budget allows. If you have multiple cards, the math favors paying off smaller balances first to reduce the number of accounts with balances, though paying highest-interest cards first saves you more money. Do what works for your situation.

Second, consider requesting credit limit increases on existing accounts. This instantly improves your overall utilization without requiring you to pay down debt. Most credit card issuers allow you to request increases online, and many do soft pulls that don't impact your credit. Just be careful not to view a higher limit as permission to spend more. That defeats the entire purpose and can quickly spiral into more debt.

For clients with persistently high utilization despite paying on time, I often discover they're using their cards wrong. They're charging everything throughout the month, planning to pay in full, but their statement closes with a high balance that reports to the bureaus. The solution is simple: make a payment mid-cycle to keep the reported balance low. Some of my clients make weekly payments to their credit cards, ensuring no statement ever closes with more than 5% utilization.

The mathematics of credit utilization extend beyond individual cards to your overall credit profile. If you have three credit cards with a combined limit of $15,000 and you carry a $4,500 balance (30% overall), where you put that balance matters. Concentrating it all on one card creates 100% utilization on that account, even though your overall utilization is 30%. Spreading balances across cards in a way that keeps each card under 30% typically produces better scores.

Length of Credit History: Playing the Long Game

Credit scoring models reward longevity. The age of your oldest account, the average age of all your accounts, and how long it's been since you used certain accounts all factor into your scores. This component represents 15% of your FICO Score and is highly influential in VantageScore.

The implications are straightforward: don't close old credit cards. I see this mistake constantly. Someone gets their finances under control, pays off their oldest credit card, and thinks, "Great, I don't need this anymore" and closes it. Then they watch their score drop 30 points and can't figure out why.

When you close a credit card, you immediately lose that credit limit, which can spike your utilization. If it's also your oldest account, you're shortening your credit history. The account itself stays on your credit report for up to 10 years after closing, but you've already done the damage by losing the available credit.

The better strategy is to keep old cards active with minimal use. Put a small recurring subscription on the card, set it to autopay, and file it away. Netflix, Spotify, a charitable contribution—anything that creates a small charge each month keeps the account active without tempting you to overspend. The credit card company won't close it for inactivity, and you maintain that valuable credit history.

For those just starting their credit journey, this principle highlights the importance of choosing your first credit card carefully. That card should be one you're willing to keep forever. No annual fee, decent benefits, issued by a bank you trust. Don't make your first card something you'll want to get rid of in a year.

I started building my credit in my early twenties with a secured credit card that had a $300 limit. That card is still open today, 20+ years later, sitting in my desk drawer with a $15,000 limit I never use. But it anchors my credit history. Every year it stays open is another year of perfect payment history, another year of proving to credit scoring models that I'm a reliable borrower.

The strategic value of being added as an authorized user on someone else's account ties directly to length of history. When you become an authorized user on a parent's or spouse's well-managed credit card that's been open for 15 years, many credit scoring models add that 15-year history to your profile. It's a legitimate way to jumpstart your credit, particularly for young adults or immigrants new to the U.S. credit system.

However, the authorized user strategy requires caution. If the primary cardholder mismanages the account—runs up high balances or makes late payments—that negative information also appears on your credit report. Choose your authorized user relationships carefully, and only with people whose financial responsibility you trust absolutely.

Credit Mix: Diversity in Your Credit Profile

Having different types of credit accounts demonstrates to lenders that you can manage various forms of debt responsibly. This factor accounts for 10% of your FICO Score. While it's the least important of the major factors, optimizing your credit mix can help push a good score to excellent. For strategies on building the optimal mix of accounts, see our complete guide on understanding credit mix.

Credit accounts fall into two main categories: revolving credit (credit cards, lines of credit) and installment loans (mortgages, auto loans, student loans, personal loans). The Federal Reserve notes that lenders view borrowers with experience managing both types as lower risk.

I want to be crystal clear about something: never take on debt you don't need just to improve your credit mix. The small potential score boost isn't worth paying interest on a loan you don't need. Your credit mix improves naturally over time as you make normal financial decisions. You buy a car, you need an auto loan. You buy a house, you get a mortgage. Over the years, your profile diversifies organically.

That said, if you're establishing credit for the first time or rebuilding after financial setbacks, a credit-builder loan can serve dual purposes. These small installment loans, often offered by credit unions and community banks, are specifically designed to help build credit. You make payments into a savings account, and once the loan is paid off, you receive the money plus any interest earned. It's a forced savings mechanism that also diversifies your credit mix.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recognizes credit-builder loans as legitimate tools for helping people establish credit history, particularly for first-time homebuyers. At Credlocity, we've seen credit-builder loans help clients improve their scores by 30-50 points over 12-24 months, especially when combined with responsible credit card use.

For established borrowers considering whether to consolidate credit card debt with a personal loan, the credit mix angle offers an interesting consideration. Personal loans are installment debt, while credit cards are revolving. Shifting $10,000 from credit cards to a personal loan changes your credit mix, typically improves your credit utilization dramatically, and can boost your score significantly. Of course, the primary motivation should be saving money on interest, not just improving your credit mix.

New Credit: Strategic Applications Only

Every time you apply for credit, the lender typically runs a hard inquiry on your credit reports. These inquiries account for 10% of your FICO Score and are less influential in VantageScore. While the impact of a single inquiry is usually small—typically fewer than five points—multiple inquiries in a short period can compound and signal to lenders that you're desperate for credit or overextended financially.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides important context here: credit scoring models are designed to recognize when you're rate-shopping for a single loan. If you're applying for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, multiple inquiries within a 14-45 day window (depending on the scoring model) are typically counted as a single inquiry. This protects consumers who are comparison shopping for the best rates.

However, this rate-shopping protection doesn't extend to credit card applications. If you apply for three credit cards in one month, all three hard inquiries count separately and can drag your score down noticeably. The key is being strategic about when and why you apply for new credit.

I recommend spacing credit applications by at least three months, and ideally six months, unless you're actively rate-shopping for a specific type of loan. This gives your credit time to recover from each inquiry and demonstrates to lenders that you're not constantly seeking new credit.

Pre-qualification tools have become invaluable for strategic credit applications. Many lenders now offer "pre-approval" or "pre-qualification" checks that use soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit score. These tools let you see if you'd likely be approved and what terms you might receive before submitting a formal application. Use them liberally before applying for any credit.

For clients rebuilding credit, I often see the temptation to apply for multiple secured credit cards or credit-builder loans simultaneously. Resist that urge. One secured card and one credit-builder loan are enough to start rebuilding. Apply for the first card, use it responsibly for six months, then consider adding another credit product if needed. Patience here pays dividends.

The flipside of new credit applications is the absence of them. If you haven't applied for any new credit in several years and suddenly apply for a mortgage, lenders don't penalize you for finally applying. The scoring models are sophisticated enough to recognize that someone with a long, clean credit history who rarely applies for new credit is a good risk, even if they're now seeking a mortgage.

Credit Report Accuracy: Your First Defense

Before you can improve your credit score effectively, you need to ensure the information in your credit reports is accurate. The Federal Trade Commission requires each of the three major credit bureaus to provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months. You can access these at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally authorized source for free credit reports.

In my 17 years of experience, I've found errors on credit reports in roughly 40% of cases. These aren't small typos—they're substantive errors that affect scores. Accounts that don't belong to you, incorrect late payment markers, balances that should be zero, accounts that should be closed showing as open. The credit bureaus process millions of data points daily, and errors are inevitable. For a step-by-step process on identifying and fixing these errors, read our comprehensive guide on how to fix credit report errors.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute any information in your credit reports that you believe is inaccurate. The dispute process is straightforward: submit your dispute in writing to each bureau reporting the incorrect information, provide documentation supporting your position, and the bureau must investigate within 30 days.

At Credlocity, we've removed $3.8 million in unverified debt from our clients' credit reports over the years. I want to be absolutely clear about what this means: we remove unverifiable, inaccurate, or improperly reported information. We cannot and do not remove accurate negative information. That would be illegal, and any company promising to do so is operating outside the law.

Common credit report errors include:

• Accounts belonging to someone else with a similar name

• Paid accounts still showing balances

• Accounts reporting late payments that were actually on time

• Duplicate accounts (the same debt reported by multiple collection agencies)

• Incorrect account status (showing closed accounts as open, or vice versa)

• Incorrect credit limits

• Outdated information that should have been removed after seven years

When you find an error, document everything. Pull together bank statements, payment confirmations, correspondence with creditors—anything that proves your case. The more documentation you provide, the faster and more effectively the bureau can investigate your dispute.

For identity theft victims, the stakes are even higher. Fraudulent accounts can devastate your credit score and create years of financial headaches. If you discover accounts you didn't open, file a police report immediately and submit an Identity Theft Report to the credit bureaus. This triggers additional protections under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and helps ensure fraudulent accounts are removed from your reports.

The Role of Different Credit Accounts

Understanding how different types of accounts impact your credit requires a nuanced view. Not all accounts are created equal in the eyes of credit scoring models, and strategic management of different account types can optimize your score more effectively than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Credit Cards: Your Credit Score Workhorse

Credit cards are the most dynamic tool for building and maintaining credit. They report to all three bureaus monthly, providing constant updates on your payment behavior and utilization. This frequent reporting means credit cards can improve your score faster than installment loans, which have fixed payment amounts and slowly declining balances.

The strategy for using credit cards to build credit is counterintuitive to many people: you don't need to carry a balance to build credit. This myth persists despite being repeatedly debunked by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and every major credit bureau. Using your credit card and paying the statement balance in full every month builds credit just as effectively as carrying a balance, but it saves you massive amounts in interest charges.

For those with multiple credit cards, managing them strategically involves more than just making on-time payments. Consider putting different expenses on different cards to keep each account active. Streaming services on one card, gas on another, groceries on a third. This demonstrates that you can manage multiple credit accounts simultaneously, and it ensures no card goes unused long enough for the issuer to close it for inactivity.

Credit card utilization reporting has a quirk that savvy consumers exploit: most issuers report your balance on your statement closing date, not your payment due date. If you charge $3,000 to your card throughout the month but make a payment before your statement closes, you can effectively use the card heavily while reporting minimal utilization to the bureaus.

Installment Loans: The Stability Factor

Mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and personal loans provide stability to your credit profile. Unlike credit cards, where your balance and utilization fluctuate monthly, installment loans have fixed payment amounts and predetermined payoff dates. This predictability is valuable to credit scoring models.

However, installment loans improve your credit score more slowly than credit cards because the balance decreases gradually. Paying off an auto loan doesn't boost your score as dramatically as paying down credit card balances because the scoring models already expected you to make those installment payments.

One aspect of installment loans that surprises many people: paying them off early can temporarily lower your credit score. When you pay off a loan, that account closes, reducing your total available credit and potentially affecting your credit mix. The impact is usually small and temporary, but it's worth understanding if you're planning major credit applications soon after paying off a loan.

For building credit, personal loans and credit-builder loans offer unique advantages. They're easier to qualify for than mortgages or auto loans, require smaller amounts, and can be strategically timed to diversify your credit mix before major purchases like a home.

Monitoring Your Credit: Tracking Progress and Protecting Against Fraud

Improving your credit score is impossible without regularly monitoring it. You can't manage what you don't measure, and checking your credit reports and scores regularly serves dual purposes: tracking your improvement progress and catching identity theft or errors early.

Where to Get Your Credit Score for Free

Gone are the days when you had to pay to see your credit score. Multiple free options exist, each with different features:

Your credit card issuer probably offers free credit score access. Most major credit card companies now provide monthly FICO Score or VantageScore updates through their online banking portals or mobile apps. Check your credit card's website or app to see if this feature is available.

Credit monitoring services like Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdWallet provide free VantageScore 3.0 scores updated weekly or monthly. These services are funded by targeted credit card and loan recommendations, so you'll see offers, but the score access itself is genuinely free with no credit card required.

Your bank or credit union may offer free credit score monitoring as a perk for account holders. This varies by institution, but it's worth checking your online banking portal to see if you have access to credit scores or credit monitoring features.

The Experian app provides free access to your Experian credit report and FICO Score 8, updated monthly. This is particularly valuable because you're getting your actual FICO Score, which is what most lenders use, not a VantageScore or educational score.

How Often Should You Check Your Score?

For active credit building or repair, check your scores monthly. This frequency lets you see the impact of your actions—did paying down that credit card balance improve your utilization enough to raise your score? Did that new account initially drop your score due to the hard inquiry?

For maintenance and monitoring, checking quarterly is sufficient. Once you've reached your target score and are simply maintaining good credit habits, you don't need constant monitoring unless you're planning a major credit application.

Always check all three bureaus before major credit applications. If you're applying for a mortgage, auto loan, or any significant credit product, pull your credit reports from all three bureaus at least 60-90 days beforehand. This gives you time to dispute any errors and address any issues before your lender pulls your credit.

Understanding Score Fluctuations

Your credit score will fluctuate month to month, and small movements (5-10 points) are completely normal. Don't panic over minor drops. These can happen because:

• Your credit card balance was higher when the issuer reported to the bureaus, even if you paid it off days later

• You applied for new credit and the hard inquiry temporarily lowered your score

• An account aged another month, slightly changing your average account age

• A negative item dropped off your report (yes, sometimes scores drop when negatives are removed because they were providing account history)

Focus on trends over time, not individual monthly fluctuations. If your score is generally moving upward over three to six months, your strategies are working. If it's trending downward, you need to identify what's changed and adjust your approach.

Setting Up Alerts and Monitoring

Most free credit monitoring services allow you to set up alerts for significant changes to your credit reports. Enable these alerts for:

• New accounts opened in your name (catches identity theft)

• Hard inquiries on your credit reports (detects fraudulent applications)

• Significant score changes (more than 25 points up or down)

• New negative items (late payments, collections, charge-offs)

• Changes to existing account balances or limits

These alerts serve as your early warning system. If you receive an alert about an account you didn't open or an inquiry you didn't authorize, you can respond immediately to prevent further damage from identity theft.

Annual Credit Report Review

Even if you're monitoring your scores regularly, pull your full credit reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com at least once per year. Your credit report contains more detail than what you see in most credit monitoring services, including:

• Complete payment history for each account

• Account opening and closing dates

• Original loan amounts and current balances

• Credit limits and available credit

• Public records like bankruptcies or tax liens

• Collections and charge-offs with original creditor information

Review each report carefully for:

Accounts you don't recognize: This could indicate identity theft or accounts mistakenly merged with your file (common with similar names)

Incorrect payment history: If an account shows late payments you know you made on time, gather documentation and dispute it

Wrong balances or credit limits: Errors in reported balances affect your utilization ratio and your score

Duplicate accounts: Sometimes the same debt appears multiple times if it's been sold to different collection agencies

Outdated information: Negative items older than seven years (or 10 years for Chapter 7 bankruptcy) should have been removed

Incorrect personal information: While your name, address, and employment history don't affect your score, significant errors could indicate your file is mixed with someone else's

Schedule this review during a consistent month each year—many people use their birth month as a reminder. Treating your credit report review as an annual "credit checkup" helps establish it as a routine part of your financial maintenance.

Advanced Credit Score Optimization Techniques

Once you've mastered the fundamentals—paying on time, keeping utilization low, maintaining old accounts—advanced strategies can push your score from good to excellent.

The Perfect Payment Timeline

Understanding when creditors report to the bureaus allows you to time your payments for maximum score impact. Most credit card issuers report your balance shortly after your statement closing date. If you're applying for a mortgage or auto loan and need to maximize your score, consider this strategy:

Three weeks before checking your score or applying for credit, pay down all credit card balances to below 10% of their limits. Keep them there through your statement closing dates. This ensures the low utilization reports to all three bureaus before you need your scores reviewed.

The Authorized User Strategy

Adding young adults, immigrants, or anyone with limited credit history as authorized users on well-established accounts can boost their scores quickly. The key is choosing the right account: old, with perfect payment history, low utilization, and high credit limit.

However, this works both ways. If you're the primary cardholder, make sure you trust your authorized users or don't give them access to the actual card. Their spending affects your utilization and credit profile, though you're still legally responsible for all charges.

Strategic Account Management

Every six months, review all your credit accounts and ask yourself: is this serving my credit goals? Perhaps you have a store card you never use. Rather than closing it, put one small recurring charge on it to keep it active. Maybe you have a credit card with a low limit. Request a limit increase to improve your overall utilization.

For cards with annual fees that you no longer want to pay, contact the issuer about downgrading to a no-fee version of the card instead of closing it. Many issuers will transfer your account to a different product, preserving your credit history and available credit without the fee.

The Rapid Rescore Option

If you're in the middle of a mortgage application and discover your credit scores are just below the threshold for the best rates, rapid rescoring might be an option. This is a service mortgage lenders can use to update your credit reports quickly after you pay down balances or correct errors, potentially raising your scores within days instead of waiting for the next monthly reporting cycle.

Rapid rescoring only works for verifiable changes—paying off collections, correcting errors, reducing balances. It can't remove accurate negative information. Your mortgage lender would coordinate this process if it's available and beneficial.

Understanding Credit Score Ranges

Credit scores in both FICO and VantageScore models range from 300 to 850, but the specific thresholds for different categories vary between the two systems.

FICO categorizes scores as: Exceptional (800-850), Very Good (740-799), Good (670-739), Fair (580-669), and Poor (300-579). VantageScore uses: Excellent (781-850), Good (661-780), Fair (601-660), Poor (500-600), and Very Poor (300-499).

These aren't just arbitrary labels. Each range correlates with different lending outcomes. Exceptional credit typically qualifies you for the best available interest rates and terms. Very Good and Good credit qualify you for most products with competitive rates. Fair credit means higher interest rates and potentially fewer options. Poor credit restricts your choices significantly and may require secured credit products or cosigners.

The difference between a 720 and a 760 credit score might seem small, but it can mean thousands of dollars in interest savings over the life of a mortgage. On a $300,000 30-year mortgage, the difference between a 6.5% interest rate and a 6.0% rate is approximately $55,000 in total interest paid.

Understanding Credit Score Ranges and What They Mean for You

Credit scores in both FICO and VantageScore models range from 300 to 850, but the specific thresholds for different categories vary between the two systems. More importantly, understanding what each range actually means for your financial opportunities helps you set realistic goals and prioritize your improvement efforts.

FICO Score Ranges and Real-World Impact

Exceptional Credit (800-850): This elite tier represents roughly 20% of consumers. With exceptional credit, you qualify for the absolute best terms on any credit product. We're talking 0% APR promotional offers on credit cards, the lowest possible mortgage rates (often 0.5-1% lower than good credit), premium credit cards with substantial rewards and benefits, and pre-approval for virtually any credit you apply for.

The difference between a 760 and 820 is minimal in practical terms—both qualify you for top-tier rates. The real benefit of exceptional credit is the peace of mind and the ease with which you can access credit when needed. You're never worrying about whether you'll be approved; the only question is which of the several excellent offers you'll accept.

Very Good Credit (740-799): About 25% of consumers fall into this range. You'll qualify for most products with competitive rates and terms. The gap between very good and exceptional is often small—maybe 0.125-0.25% on a mortgage rate, or slightly fewer premium credit card approvals. For most purposes, very good credit gets you where you need to go without significant compromise.

If you're in this range and applying for a mortgage, it's worth considering whether a few months of optimization could push you to 800+. On a $400,000 mortgage, moving from a 6.5% to a 6.25% interest rate saves roughly $60,000 over the life of the loan. That's real money worth pursuing if you're on the cusp.

Good Credit (670-739): The largest segment, representing about 21% of consumers. Good credit qualifies you for most credit products, but you'll pay more than those with very good or exceptional scores. On a mortgage, you might pay 0.5-1% more in interest. On credit cards, you'll have access to rewards cards but might not qualify for the premium travel cards with large sign-up bonuses.

The good news: moving from good to very good is achievable with focused effort on the fundamentals. Pay down credit card balances to drop utilization below 10%, maintain perfect payment history for 6-12 months, and avoid new credit applications. Clients in this range often see 30-50 point improvements within 6-9 months by optimizing these key factors.

Fair Credit (580-669): Roughly 17% of consumers. Fair credit significantly limits your options and increases your costs. You'll struggle to qualify for unsecured credit cards, paying annual fees for secured cards instead. Mortgage options are limited—you might qualify for FHA loans but with higher interest rates and potentially higher down payment requirements. Auto loans come with interest rates in the teens, not single digits.

If you're in this range, your priority is getting to 670 as quickly as possible. That threshold opens up significantly more options and saves you substantial money on any credit you do access. Focus on: removing any errors from your credit reports, paying down existing balances to improve utilization, and establishing perfect payment history going forward.

Poor Credit (300-579): About 16% of consumers. Poor credit severely restricts access to traditional credit products. You're looking at secured credit cards, credit-builder loans, and possibly rent-to-own arrangements or buy-here-pay-here auto financing with exorbitant effective interest rates.

Recovery from poor credit takes time but is absolutely possible. Many of my clients have gone from the 500s to the 700s within 24-36 months by addressing collections, removing errors, establishing new positive payment history, and gradually rebuilding their credit profile.

VantageScore Ranges

VantageScore uses slightly different thresholds: Excellent (781-850), Good (661-780), Fair (601-660), Poor (500-600), and Very Poor (300-499). The practical impact is similar to FICO ranges, though VantageScore tends to be less commonly used by lenders for actual lending decisions.

The Marginal Value of Score Improvements

Understanding the marginal value of score improvements helps you prioritize your efforts:

540 to 620: High value. This moves you from poor to fair credit, dramatically expanding your access to credit products and reducing costs on those you can access.

620 to 680: Very high value. This is the sweet spot of improvement, moving you from limited options with high rates to broad access with competitive rates. Every 10 points in this range matters significantly.

680 to 740: High value. Moving through good credit to very good credit continues to provide meaningful savings, particularly on large loans like mortgages and auto loans.

740 to 800: Moderate value. You're still improving your terms, but the marginal benefits decrease. The difference between a 750 and 780 might be 0.125% on a mortgage rate—meaningful but not life-changing.

800 to 850: Low practical value. Beyond bragging rights, there's little functional difference between an 810 and an 850. Both qualify for the same rates and terms. If you're already at 800+, your time is better spent on other aspects of financial health rather than obsessing over score optimization.

This practical understanding helps you set realistic goals. If you're at 580, getting to 620 should be your first target—it's achievable and provides the maximum bang for your effort. If you're at 780, trying to hit 850 is a waste of time that could be better spent on investment strategy or debt payoff.

Common Credit Score Myths Debunked

After 17 years in this industry, I've heard every credit myth imaginable. Let me set the record straight on the most persistent ones.

Myth: Checking your credit score lowers it. Reality: Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry and has zero impact on your score. Check it as often as you want.

Myth: Closing credit cards improves your score. Reality: Closing cards typically hurts your score by reducing available credit and potentially shortening your credit history.

Myth: You need to carry a credit card balance to build credit. Reality: Using your card and paying it off in full each month builds credit just as effectively without paying interest.

Myth: All late payments impact your score equally. Reality: Recent late payments hurt more than old ones, and 60-day lates hurt more than 30-day lates.

Myth: Income affects your credit score. Reality: Your income doesn't appear on your credit reports and doesn't factor into credit scores at all.

Myth: Married couples share credit scores. Reality: Each person maintains their own credit reports and scores. Joint accounts appear on both credit reports, but individual accounts only affect the person whose name is on them.

Myth: Paying off collections immediately improves your score. Reality: Paid collections are still collections. In older scoring models, paying them doesn't improve your score. Newer models treat them more favorably, but the impact varies.

Myth: Credit repair companies can legally remove accurate negative information. Reality: No one can legally remove accurate information from your credit reports. Companies promising this are committing fraud.

The Truth About Credit Repair Companies

I need to address this directly because I've seen too many people hurt by predatory credit repair companies. This is personal for me because I was one of their victims in 2008, and that experience directly led to founding Credlocity.

Legitimate credit repair involves identifying and disputing inaccurate, unverifiable, or improperly reported information on your credit reports. This is legal and protected under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. What's not legal is making false statements in disputes, creating new identities to hide bad credit, or removing accurate negative information.

The Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) regulates this industry and requires credit repair companies to:

• Provide a written contract detailing services and costs

• Not charge fees before performing services

• Allow customers to cancel within three days

• Not make false promises about removing accurate negative information

Additionally, the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) requires companies that enroll clients over the phone to wait six months before charging any fees. This is a crucial consumer protection, yet many companies violate it daily. Any company that signs you up over a phone call and charges you immediately is breaking federal law. Report them to the Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

At Credlocity, we only accept enrollments through our online platform, never over the phone. This allows us to charge for our services immediately while fully complying with TSR requirements. Our 30-day free trial gives you a full month to evaluate our services before paying anything.

I want to be direct about what we can and cannot do: we dispute inaccurate information, help you understand your credit, provide financial education, and guide you through the credit-building process. We cannot remove accurate negative information, guarantee specific score increases, or promise results within a specific timeframe. Anyone making those promises is lying.

Strategic Credit Applications: When and How to Apply

Applying for credit strategically can help you build a stronger credit profile while minimizing negative impacts from hard inquiries and managing your credit responsibly. Understanding when to apply, how to maximize approval odds, and how to leverage pre-qualification can save you points on your credit score and increase your success rate.

The Truth About Hard Inquiries

Every time you apply for credit, the lender typically runs a hard inquiry on one or more of your credit reports. These inquiries account for 10% of your FICO Score and are less influential in VantageScore. While the impact of a single inquiry is usually small—typically fewer than five points—multiple inquiries in a short period can compound and signal to lenders that you're desperate for credit or overextended financially.

Hard inquiries remain on your credit reports for two years but only affect your FICO Score for the first 12 months. The impact decreases over time, so a six-month-old inquiry hurts less than a fresh one. Understanding this timeline helps you plan credit applications around major purchases.

Rate Shopping Without Score Damage

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides important context here: credit scoring models are designed to recognize when you're rate-shopping for a single loan. If you're applying for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, multiple inquiries within a 14-45 day window (depending on the scoring model version) are typically counted as a single inquiry.

This protection encourages consumers to shop around for the best rates without penalty. However, this grace period doesn't extend to credit card applications. If you apply for three credit cards in one month, all three hard inquiries count separately and can drag your score down noticeably.

The strategy: when you need a mortgage or auto loan, do all your rate shopping within a compressed timeframe. If you space applications out over three months instead of three weeks, each inquiry counts separately. Get pre-approved with multiple lenders over two weeks, compare offers, and make your decision quickly.

Spacing Credit Card Applications

For credit cards, I recommend spacing applications by at least three months, and ideally six months, unless you're actively gaming sign-up bonuses and understand the trade-offs. This gives your credit time to recover from each inquiry and demonstrates to lenders that you're not constantly seeking new credit.

Exception: if you have excellent credit (760+) and are pursuing credit card rewards strategically, you can potentially handle more frequent applications. Some rewards enthusiasts successfully apply for new cards every 2-3 months. But this requires excellent credit management, high income to support the credit extended, and careful tracking to avoid missing payments across multiple cards.

Pre-Qualification: Your Secret Weapon

Pre-qualification tools have become invaluable for strategic credit applications. Many lenders now offer "pre-approval" or "pre-qualification" checks that use soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit score. These tools let you see if you'd likely be approved and what terms you might receive before submitting a formal application.

Use pre-qualification tools liberally. Before applying for any credit card, check if the issuer offers pre-qualification. You can often pre-qualify with multiple issuers in one day with zero impact to your credit score, giving you a clear picture of your options before committing to any formal applications.

For mortgages and auto loans, many lenders offer soft-pull pre-qualification before moving to formal pre-approval with a hard inquiry. Take advantage of this by pre-qualifying with several lenders to narrow your options before formal applications.

Timing Applications Around Major Purchases

If you know you'll be applying for a mortgage in six months, your credit application strategy changes dramatically. You should:

• Avoid any new credit applications for at least 6-12 months before mortgage shopping

• Focus on paying down existing balances to optimize utilization

• Don't close any accounts, even if you're not using them

• Dispute any errors on your credit reports early, allowing time for resolution

• Monitor your credit monthly to ensure no surprises appear

The same applies for auto loans, though the stakes are typically lower. A 30-point score difference might change your mortgage rate by 0.5%, costing tens of thousands over the loan term. On a $30,000 auto loan, the same score difference might change your rate by 1-2%, costing hundreds to a few thousand over the loan term. Still significant, but less critical than mortgage timing.

Building Credit Strategically Over Time

For those building credit, particularly from scratch or after negative events, a strategic approach to applications matters even more. Here's a typical optimal timeline:

Months 0-6: Start with one secured credit card or credit-builder loan. Use it lightly, pay in full, establish perfect payment history. Don't apply for anything else.

Months 6-12: Your first account is now 6-12 months old, establishing some credit history. Consider adding one more credit account—either another secured card, an unsecured starter card if you qualify, or a credit-builder loan if you started with a secured card. The goal is diversification without overwhelming your ability to manage payments.

Months 12-18: Monitor your progress. If your score has improved to 650+, you might qualify for better credit cards. Consider upgrading your secured card to unsecured (many issuers do this automatically) or applying for a rewards card with no annual fee.

Months 18-24: With 18-24 months of perfect payment history and improving scores, you're positioned for mainstream credit products. This is when you might add a third credit card, qualify for better personal loan rates, or even start thinking about auto financing if needed.

This patient, strategic approach builds a strong credit profile that compounds over time. Rushing the process by applying for multiple credit products simultaneously often backfires, resulting in multiple denials that each leave a hard inquiry while providing no new credit to help your profile.

When to Break the Rules

Sometimes aggressive credit applications make strategic sense despite the short-term score impact:

Major rewards opportunity: If you can earn $2,000+ in sign-up bonuses from credit cards you're confident you'll use responsibly, the temporary 10-20 point score drop might be worth it. Just don't do this within 12 months of any major loan application.

Balance transfer to 0% APR: If you're carrying high-interest credit card debt and can transfer it to a 0% APR card for 12-18 months, the hard inquiry and temporary score drop are absolutely worth the interest savings.

Immediate auto need: If your car died and you need financing immediately, you can't wait to optimize your credit first. In this case, do rapid rate shopping within a 14-day window to minimize inquiry impact, but accept that your timing isn't optimal.

Emerging from bankruptcy: After bankruptcy discharge, you need to rebuild credit aggressively. This might mean applying for a secured card, a credit-builder loan, and becoming an authorized user all within a few months. The normal spacing rules don't apply when you're rebuilding from zero.

The key is understanding the trade-offs and making informed decisions rather than applying randomly for credit without considering the strategic implications.

Credit Scores and Life Events

Major life events inevitably impact your credit, but understanding how they work helps you plan and minimize damage.

Buying a Home

The mortgage application process typically involves pulling your credit reports from all three bureaus. Lenders use the middle of your three scores, so if you have a 720 Equifax score, 740 Experian score, and 710 TransUnion score, they'll use 720.

Before applying for a mortgage, optimize your credit for at least six months. Pay down balances, don't apply for new credit, and correct any errors on your credit reports. The difference between a 720 and 760 score can save tens of thousands of dollars over a 30-year mortgage.

Getting Divorced

Divorce doesn't directly affect your credit scores, but the financial chaos surrounding it often does. The key is understanding that joint accounts remain joint until closed or refinanced. Your ex-spouse's late payments on a joint credit card hurt your credit too, even after the divorce is final.

Before or during divorce proceedings, close or separate all joint accounts. Refinance joint loans into individual names. Document everything in writing. The divorce decree might say your ex is responsible for certain debts, but creditors don't care about divorce decrees—if your name is on the account, you're responsible.

Dealing with Medical Debt

Medical debt is treated differently than other types of debt in newer credit scoring models. As of 2023, the credit bureaus implemented several changes: paid medical collections no longer appear on credit reports, medical collections don't appear until they're at least one year old, and medical collections under $500 are no longer reported.

If you have medical debt, these changes are significant. Pay off any medical collections, and they'll disappear from your credit reports, potentially boosting your score substantially. For unpaid medical debt over $500 that's less than a year old, you have time to negotiate with the healthcare provider or work out payment arrangements before it hits your credit reports.

Job Loss and Financial Hardship

Losing your job doesn't directly impact your credit—unemployment status doesn't appear on credit reports. However, the financial stress that follows can lead to late payments and maxed-out credit cards that devastate your scores.

If you anticipate financial hardship, contact your creditors immediately. Many offer hardship programs that can temporarily reduce your payments, defer them, or reduce interest rates. These arrangements typically don't appear on your credit reports as negative items if you're proactive. Waiting until you're already behind makes the situation much worse.

Understanding Credit Score Disparities: The 90-Point Gap

There's an uncomfortable truth about credit scores that most companies in this industry don't want to discuss: systemic inequalities create persistent credit score gaps along racial and socioeconomic lines. Understanding these disparities is crucial for anyone working to improve their credit, particularly if you're part of a community that's been historically underserved by financial institutions.

Research consistently shows that Black and Hispanic consumers score, on average, 90 points lower than their white counterparts. This isn't because of individual financial irresponsibility—it's the result of decades of discriminatory lending practices, limited access to mainstream financial services, and wealth gaps created by systemic racism. Redlining, predatory lending, and exclusion from generational wealth-building opportunities have created credit barriers that persist today.

As a Hispanic business owner running a minority-owned credit repair company, I see this gap play out every single day. Clients come to me with credit challenges that aren't entirely of their own making. They grew up in communities where banks were scarce, where check-cashing stores and payday lenders were the primary financial services, where credit education was nonexistent. Breaking this cycle requires not just individual action but choosing to work with companies that understand these challenges and are committed to addressing them.

This is why representation matters in the credit repair industry. Working with minority-owned, women-owned, and LGBTQAI+-owned businesses like Credlocity means working with people who understand these systemic barriers firsthand. We're not just checking boxes—we've lived these experiences. We know what it's like to be denied opportunities because of factors beyond our control. And we're committed to helping you break through those barriers. For a deeper exploration of this critical issue and why choosing minority-owned credit repair companies matters, read our comprehensive analysis of breaking the 90-point score gap cycle.

The path to excellent credit isn't just about following the rules—it's about understanding how the system works, who built that system, and how to navigate it effectively despite its inherent inequalities. That knowledge, combined with the fundamental strategies in this guide, gives you the power to build credit that opens doors regardless of the barriers you've faced.

Building Credit From Scratch

For young adults, immigrants, or anyone starting their credit journey, the process can feel frustratingly slow. You need credit to get credit, but how do you get started? If you're completely new to credit or have no credit history at all, our detailed guide on how to build credit from scratch provides a complete roadmap with specific product recommendations and timelines.

Start with a secured credit card. These cards require a cash deposit that becomes your credit limit. Use it like a regular credit card, making small purchases and paying them off monthly. After six to twelve months of responsible use, many issuers will graduate you to an unsecured card and return your deposit.

Simultaneously, consider a credit-builder loan from a credit union or community bank. These small loans (typically $500-$1,500) are held in an account while you make payments. Once paid off, you receive the money. They exist solely to build credit and are easier to qualify for than traditional loans.

Being added as an authorized user on a parent's or trusted friend's credit card can accelerate the process significantly, as discussed earlier. Just ensure the primary cardholder has excellent credit management habits.

Student credit cards offer another entry point, typically with lower credit requirements than standard cards. If you're a college student, these cards can help you build credit while still in school, as long as you use them responsibly.

The key to building credit from scratch is patience and consistency. You won't have a 750 score in six months, but you can have a 680 score in 12-18 months with consistent, responsible behavior. Focus on establishing accounts, using them modestly, and paying them off completely every month.

Credit Score Recovery After Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy devastates your credit score, typically dropping it 130-240 points depending on where you started. Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit reports for 10 years; Chapter 13 for seven years. However, bankruptcy isn't a permanent financial death sentence.

The first step in recovery is understanding that your score can start improving while the bankruptcy is still on your reports. The impact diminishes over time, and positive payment history after bankruptcy gradually outweighs the negative mark.

Post-bankruptcy, you'll likely need to start with secured credit cards and credit-builder loans, similar to building credit from scratch. Some lenders specialize in post-bankruptcy auto loans, though interest rates will be higher than for prime borrowers.

Clients I've worked with post-bankruptcy have rebuilt their scores to 700+ within three to five years by focusing religiously on the fundamentals: perfect payment history, low credit utilization, and gradually diversifying their credit mix. It's not easy, and it requires discipline, but it's absolutely achievable.

About Credlocity: Ethical Credit Repair and Financial Education

My journey to founding Credlocity began with betrayal. In 2008, I was a victim of credit repair fraud by a company that took my money, made empty promises, and delivered nothing but frustration. That experience opened my eyes to the predatory nature of much of the credit repair industry and lit a fire in me to create something better.

For 17 years now, Credlocity has operated as an ethical alternative in the credit repair space. We're a Hispanic-owned, minority-owned, women-owned, and LGBTQAI+-owned business operating in all 50 states with one simple mission: help people improve their credit through education, ethical practices, and genuine client service.

What makes us different starts with our certifications. As a Board Certified Credit Consultant (BCCC), Certified Credit Score Consultant (CCSC), Certified Credit Repair Specialist (CCRS), and FCRA Certified professional, I've invested in the education and credentials that many in this industry skip. These aren't just letters after my name—they represent hundreds of hours of training in consumer protection law, credit reporting regulations, and ethical credit repair practices.

Our approach centers on education first, repair second. We teach clients how credit works, why their scores are where they are, and what actions will create lasting improvement. Every client receives monthly one-on-one consultations and monthly budgeting assistance as part of their service. We want you to understand your credit well enough that you don't need us long-term.

We've served over 79,000 clients since 2008, successfully removing $3.8 million in unverified debt from credit reports. We maintain zero negative Better Business Bureau reviews because we're honest about what we can and cannot do. We offer a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing you to evaluate our service before paying anything. And we back our work with a 180-day money-back guarantee.

Our pricing is transparent: Fraud Package at $99.95/month for identity theft and fraud issues, Aggressive Package at $179.95/month (our most popular) for comprehensive credit repair, and Family Package at $279.95/month for multiple family members. Every package includes mobile app access for real-time credit monitoring, monthly consultations, and monthly budgeting assistance.

Beyond credit repair, I've spent the past six years conducting investigative journalism exposing fraud in the credit repair industry. My investigations have led to regulatory actions and business closures of predatory companies. This work has been featured in publications including Bold Journey, Voyage LA, and Shoutout LA. I'm not just in this business—I'm fighting to clean it up.

Federal law compliance isn't optional for us; it's central to everything we do. We operate within all requirements of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). We accept enrollments only through our online platform, never over the phone, which allows us to charge for services immediately while fully complying with TSR requirements.

If you're considering credit repair services, I encourage you to look at Credlocity's 30-day free trial at https://www.credlocity.com/credit-repair-free-trial. No pressure, no gimmicks—just an opportunity to see what ethical credit repair looks like. Whether you choose to work with us or not, arm yourself with knowledge about your rights, understand the Credit Repair Organizations Act at https://www.credlocity.com/credit-repair-organizations-act-croa-guide, and know the TSR compliance requirements at https://www.credlocity.com/credit-repair-tsr-compliance-guide-2026.

Practical Action Plan for Credit Improvement

Knowledge without action accomplishes nothing. Here's a concrete, step-by-step action plan you can implement starting today:

Week 1:

• Request your free credit reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com

• Review each report carefully for errors, unfamiliar accounts, or incorrect information

• Set up automatic payments for all credit accounts (at minimum, the minimum payment)

• Calculate your current credit utilization across all cards

Week 2:

• Submit disputes for any errors found on your credit reports

• If your utilization is above 30%, create a plan to pay down balances

• Consider using Experian Boost or similar tools to add alternative payment history

• Set up credit monitoring through your bank, credit card issuer, or a free service

Month 1:

• Make all payments on time (this is non-negotiable from now on)

• If possible, make an extra payment to reduce credit card balances

• Request credit limit increases on any cards in good standing

• Review your budget to identify areas where you can allocate more money to debt payoff

Months 2-3:

• Continue perfect payment history

• Monitor your credit reports for updates on your disputes

• Consider becoming an authorized user if you have that option

• Keep credit utilization below 30% on all cards, ideally below 10%

Months 4-6:

• Reassess your credit scores to see improvement

• If you started with zero or limited credit, consider adding another type of account

• Continue all positive habits established in previous months

• Begin researching whether you need additional credit accounts for your credit mix

Ongoing:

• Never miss a payment

• Keep utilization low

• Check credit reports regularly for errors or identity theft

• Don't apply for unnecessary credit

• Maintain old accounts even if you don't use them regularly

This isn't a quick fix. Building or rebuilding credit takes time, typically 12-24 months to see substantial improvement. But consistency with these fundamentals will move your score in the right direction, guaranteed.

Final Thoughts: Your Credit Journey

Your credit score is a financial tool, nothing more and nothing less. It's not a judgment of your character or your worth as a person. It's a mathematical representation of your credit management history that lenders use to assess risk.

I've seen people with 550 scores rebuild to 750 over two years through discipline and smart strategy. I've also seen people with 780 scores tank them to 620 in six months through carelessness and poor decisions. Your score reflects your recent behavior more than your past mistakes.

The strategies in this article work. They're not secrets or tricks—they're straightforward applications of how credit scoring models work. Payment history, utilization, length of history, new credit, and credit mix. Master these five factors, maintain your discipline, and your score will reflect that mastery.

If you're struggling with inaccurate information on your credit reports or need guidance navigating complex credit issues, remember that legitimate help exists. At Credlocity, we've built our entire business on providing that help ethically and effectively. But whether you work with us or tackle it yourself, commit to understanding your credit and taking control of your financial future.

Your credit score opens doors, but you have to walk through them. Start today. Check your credit reports, fix errors, establish positive habits, and watch your score—and your financial opportunities—grow over time.

Legal Disclosures

Not Legal or Financial Advice

This article provides educational information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Every individual's situation is unique, and you should consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances. For legal questions, consult a licensed attorney. For financial advice, work with a qualified financial advisor.

CROA and TSR Compliance Statement

Credlocity operates exclusively within the requirements and limitations of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). We make no guarantees regarding credit score improvements or specific results. Credit repair outcomes depend on numerous factors including the accuracy of information on your credit reports, your credit history, and actions you take during the process.

Accurate Information Disclaimer

We cannot and do not remove accurate negative information from credit reports. We work exclusively to address inaccurate, unverifiable, or improperly reported information as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and related consumer protection laws.

TSR Phone Enrollment Warning

Federal law requires that credit repair companies who enroll clients over the phone must wait six months before charging any fees. Credlocity avoids this requirement by accepting enrollments only through our online platform, never over the phone. We disclose this information so consumers can protect themselves from companies violating this law. Any credit repair company charging fees immediately after a phone consultation is operating illegally, and you should report them to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.

FTC Reporting Encouragement

We encourage all consumers to report any credit repair company who charges for services after signing up following a phone consultation at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/. Consumer protection depends on consumers reporting violations when they encounter them.

Sources

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2. Federal Trade Commission. "Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself." Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information, https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-repair-how-help-yourself. Accessed December 31, 2024.

3. MyFICO. "What's in my FICO® Scores?" MyFICO, https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/whats-in-your-credit-score. Accessed December 31, 2024.

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