Shocking Myths About Credit Scores You Should Know About
By There’s a lot of information available on the internet about credit scores. Despite this, many people hold misconceptions about their credit scores, which keeps them from actually improving their scores. Here, we’ve debunked a few of these credit score myths.
A Poor Credit Score Will Last Forever
Your credit score will remain poor if you continue making bad choices like defaulting on your payments, paying your bills late, maxing out your cards, etc. If you start managing your money well and making your payments on time, your credit score will certainly improve with time.
It Takes a Very Long Time for Your Credit Score to Dip
If you continue making bad money moves, it will only take a few months for you to bring down your score.
Checking Your Credit Score Will Hurt It
You can check your score any number of times without bringing down your score, provided you use a credit scoring service and not a lender to check the score.
Making a Lot of Money Will Improve Your Score
Your income has no effect on your credit score. Of course, if you have a higher income, it’s likely that you will be able to pay your bills within the specified due dates and keep your credit utilization low. These factors can positively affect your credit score. However, there is no direct correlation between your credit score and income.
You Have Just One Credit Score
It may come as a surprise to you, but you actually do have several credit scores simply because there are different credit scoring models.
You Can Merge Your Credit Score with That of Your Spouse
Getting married does not mean your credit score will merge with your spouse’s score – you will both continue to have separate scores and credit histories even after you are married. However, if you cosign for a loan or credit card with them, any payment defaults that they are responsible for will also likely appear on your score.
All Employers Check Credit Scores
Employers may ask you for permission to check your credit report, but they will usually not ask to check your score. Keep in mind that you will need to allow the company to look up your credit history.