Have you ever looked at your credit score and wondered how they come up with late simple little number?  Well, that number is anything but simple.  It is so complicated that there are only a few privileged few who know how that number is come up with; the number that can impact every aspect of your life.  It’s what determines whether you have good credit or bad credit.  Credit card companies use it to determine what interest you pay and whether you get the card at all.

Why the mystery?  The company that developed the system says that if they disclosed to formula they would lose business.  Money does, after all, make the world go round.

This one little number that is such a mystery controls most aspect of our lives.  Some groups have tried to unravel the mystery without much luck.  Even the credit card companies and other lenders don’t know the secret formula.  There are, of course, many common sense factors.  For example, pay your debts on time.  You would think that would be enough, but its not.  Some of the things they take into consideration are if you own a home, how long you have owned that home, what your job is and how long you have had it.  There are more points awarded for those in a “professional career.”  Doctors, lawyers, and CEO’s are given better consideration than blue collar workers and just about any other group of workers.  So, if you decide to choose a career other than a professional one, your credit suffers.  For some reason, lawyers are better than factory workers.

Your age also plays a large part in what goes into your score, those over 50 benefits from their years.  Those without an extensive credit history are penalized for their lack of use whether they pay their bills or not.

There are many myths about how to improve your credit score.  Some believe that if you pay off your credit cards and close your accounts your credit score will go up.  In actuality, open lines of credit with low balances are better than none at all.  Credit repair companies tell us that they have inside knowledge about how the system works and can repair you bad credit instantly and easily.  For a fee, of course.

Is it fair to be penalized for being a plumber instead of a doctor?  Should you be penalized for being a 40 year old who pays your bills on time?  Should you be penalized for wanting to live in an apartment instead of a house?  Most of us can see the unfairness of some of these factors.

Even though there are these factors that can’t be changed you can still change your bad credit to good credit, and these are all common sense.  If you pay your bills on time consistently your score will improve substantially over the years.  Use your credit cards wisely.  Don’t fall into the trap that you need something when really you only want it.  There is a definite difference.