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4 Habits to Help Build Better Credit
By Katrina Lewis / 04/11/2024 / Your Money
Smart planning, tapping into technology and a few back-to-basics habits can help lead you to credit — and a credit score — you can be proud of.
- Use automatic payments. Life happens, and it’s easy to forget to make a payment here and there. But beware, payment history impacts your credit score most. Setting up automatic payments can help ensure your payments arrive on time. If you have an account with GM Financial, you can log in to MyAccount to sign up for Auto Pay.
- Download apps. Remember life before apps? (Neither do we!) They make it easier to manage finances from anywhere. Download apps from your bank and lenders to help stay on top of your fiscal business. You can even set alerts to notify you of any unusual spending or set payment reminders.
- Keep score. You can request one free credit report each year, per agency, from the three main credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — on annualcreditreport.com. They also offer email alerts and monitoring for a fee. Don’t forget about your FICO® score. For a monthly fee, you can track all three agency scores at once at myfico.com. If you notice a negative change in your score, it's worth looking into why your credit score dropped.
- Avoid extra credit. Extra credit in school was always a good thing. But once you’ve established credit, don’t apply for more than you actually need. Too many inquiries may affect your credit score. On-time payments for revolving accounts (think credit cards) and installment/fixed-payment loans (such as a car payment) can help keep your credit score on the right track.
Learn more about establishing credit and fixing common credit mishaps by listening to episodes of the Our Two Cents podcast from KEYS® by GM Financial.
By Katrina Lewis, GM Financial
A fan of suspense novels, food trucks and pop culture, Katrina Lewis is passionate about writing to educate and inform, especially when it comes to finances and customer options when leases or contracts are ending. A “boy mom,” Katrina loves playing monster trucks with her son, random day trips and venturing out to various festivals with her family.
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