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Personal Finance
A person’s credit score is an important factor in their financial health, and a drop in credit score can lead to higher interest rates, lower credit limits, and loan or credit application rejections.
Making timely payments, checking credit reports for errors, maintaining a low credit utilisation ratio, and other factors can improve one’s credit score.
The most important factor in determining a credit score is payment history, making up 35% of the FICO score calculation.
Missing payments, having a high credit utilization rate, and closing credit card accounts can all negatively impact a credit score.
Paying off installment debt, such as a mortgage or student loan, can also cause a credit score to drop due to loss of credit accounts.
A 100-point drop in credit score can mean being denied for loans and credit cards and facing higher interest rates on mortgages.
Low and high-risk consumers are treated differently in terms of credit score, with high-risk consumers suffering a more drastic drop for the same negative credit event.
Regularly monitoring one’s credit report is important to identify and address inaccuracies in a timely manner.
Negotiating with lenders and card issuers may result in lower interest rates and more flexible loan terms.