Credit scores can affect anything from financing to phone contracts and loans. Most importantly, the better your credit score, the higher your chance of being offered a good deal for your mortgage, opening the door to significant savings. 

Understanding the Basics of Credit Scores

Firstly, let's look at what a credit score is and how to find yours. 

Defining Credit Scores:

A credit score is a number that is based on your financial history. It takes into account how reliable you are at paying back money and how well you have handled your finances in the past. For example, if you pay bills on time, the length of your credit history, and if you live a stable lifestyle. 

Obtaining and Understanding Credit Reports:

Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union are the three main credit-referencing agencies in the UK.

When signing up to view your credit score, you will need to input your name, date of birth, and your previous addresses in the UK for the last three years. You will also need to provide a current account or debit card details to link the account with your financial information. 

Once you have set up an account, you can see your credit score, which will be a number between 0-999. You will also see where it sits on the ‘Very Poor - Excellent’ scale. 

If you have any negative issues affecting your score you can see these with a subscription to one of the three credit reference companies listed above. 

Common Factors Affecting Credit Scores

You may be unhappy with your credit score but don’t worry, there are many ways to improve your rating. 

Common Mistakes that Affect Your Credit Score:

• Have you maxed out your credit card?
  This could suggest you don’t know how to curb your spending. Keep your spending on a credit card low and pay it back regularly. 

• Are you registered on the electoral roll?
  Make sure you are registered on the electoral roll as a sign of stability in your life. 

• Too many credit cards?
  Multiple credit cards could affect your ability to pay loans back. Close down most, but not all, of your credit accounts. 

Addressing Errors and Disputes:

Credit reference companies hold a huge amount of data on you, but, if you notice an error on your credit report you have the right to dispute it. 

Contact the credit reference company, listing the errors and providing evidence to resolve them. If the issue can’t be disputed, then in special circumstances, you can ask to add a note to your file that will detail anything relevant to the issue.

Strategies to Improve Your Credit Score

If you are looking to improve your credit rating, then here are a few things that you can do to make sure you score higher in the future. 

Timely Payments and Debt Reduction:

Most importantly, reduce and pay off your debts as soon as possible. Make timely payments, and don’t miss any. Making regular and on-time payments to get rid of debt helps showcase how financially responsible you are. 

You can reduce your debt by using a couple of methods

• Snowball method: List your debts from smallest to largest. Make minimum payments on all, except the smallest which you will pay off in larger increments. Once your smallest debt is paid off, repeat the process with the next smallest one and keep going until all your debts are paid. 
• Avalanche Method: List your debts from the highest to the lowest interest rate. Make minimum payments on all except the one with the highest interest rate. Pay this one off in larger increments until the debt is paid off. Repeat the process with the next highest interest rate and keep going until all your debts are paid off. 

Credit Utilisation and Account Diversification:

Your credit score takes into consideration things like revolving accounts, credit cards, and instalment accounts (such as loans). This is called a credit mix. Having a diversity of accounts shows that you can handle multiple lines of credit. 

Even more important is your credit utilisation, meaning how much of your available credit you have utilised. Utilisation of 30% or more of your available credit starts to look bad on your credit score, so try not to go over this. But, 0% utilisation is also bad, because you aren’t showing that you can pay back credit and interest on time. 

Building Long-Term Financial Habits

Managing multiple lines of credit and diversifying your accounts can sound overwhelming, but with long-term strategies, you can help build good financial habits.

For example, learning to budget and save can help you to manage your finances effectively. Moneyhelperis a very useful tool that can get you started with building this long-term financial habit. 

Another way to increase your financial stability is through investing. Investing can build your wealth up over time. For example, choosing to invest in an index fund is a great way to make your money grow over a few decades. You do not need to do much, just add small amounts each month to your chosen investments and watch them grow. 

Building long-term financial habits will not only actively help your credit score improve, but also provide financial security throughout your life. 

How a Good Credit Score Impacts Mortgage Rates

Good credit scores help with mortgage acceptances. But they can also facilitate better interest rates, leading to monthly savings when buying a house. 

For big loans, like a mortgage, lenders want to know that they will be getting their money back. The higher your credit score, the lower the risk for loan providers. Lower interest rates are offered as incentives for creditworthy applicants to choose them. 

The opposite is true for lower credit scores. You might still be able to get a mortgage, but the perceived risk of lending money is higher, so interest rates go up alongside that. 

Concluding Thoughts On Your Credit Score:

Overall, your credit score plays a very important role in mortgage applications. The higher your score, the better your mortgage rate. 

Having a bad score is not the end of the world and there are several strategies you can implement to reduce your debt, improve your financial responsibility, and build good long-term financial habits. Proactive financial management is an important skill to have, but don’t be afraid to ask for expert advice when needed. 

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE