Improve Your Credit Score
Paying Bills On-Time has the Biggest Impact on your Credit Score.
The biggest impact on your credit score is Payment History at 35%.Payment history tracks whether you’re paying your bills on time. Paying bills late, not paying bills at all, and having bills that go to collections will likely cause your credit score to drop. Paying your bills on time will help increase your score.
Most people have recurring bills and expenses like rent, utilities, car payments, and
insurance. Since these bills have a fixed due date, you can use a Bill Calendar to chart your bill timing and compare it to income. Figuring out which bills to expect helps you plan to have enough money on hand. Some people find that thinking ahead helps reduce the stress when bills arrive.
MMFCU has a FREE Bill Pay service that can save you time and gives you peace of mind that the paying and mailing of payments are taken care of for you. Bill Pay saves you the cost of postage and helps you avoid late fees and other consequences of missed or late payments.
Finally, we make monitoring your credit score easy and FREE in online banking or mobile app with Savvy Money®. So you can see the impact on your credit score!
Know Your Credit Score
Setting goals is your first step toward achieving your dreams.
Errors on your credit report can negatively affect your credit score and ability to get a loan, rent an apartment, and even get a job. Monitoring your credit score regularly can also protect against identity theft and fraud.
Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union has your financial well-being as our number one priority, so we are making it easy for you as we partner with Savvy Money® so that you can monitor your credit score while using online and mobile banking.
- Start by logging into online or mobile banking.
- Then click "Check Your Score" where you see an image similar to the one shown here, coming in January.
- Annually, download your full credit report from annualcreditreport.com and read through them carefully using the Credit Report Checklist as a guide of what errors to look for. Make three copies of the checklist, one for each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- If you find any mistakes on your credit reports, you should dispute them and we can help. Mid Minnesota has a Disputing errors on your credit reports resource that walks you through how to do this.
- Continue to monitor your score to ensure you have not been a victim of identity theft.
If you are building your credit toward an 850 score, the best ways to improve your score are to: pay bills on time, use less than 30% of your available credit, and monitor your credit regularly.
Learn more about Savvy Money® and how this service can help you learn more about your credit score and improve your financial well-being by reviewing these Frequently Asked Questions.
The Savvy Money credit score tool is intended to help you understand the factors that affect your credit score, and ways you may be able to save money with Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union loan products. It is not used for loan approval purposes, or for determining loan rates. Loan rates and approvals are based on information provided to the credit union when you apply for a loan. The credit score found in the credit report may be different than the credit score you see here. The offers presented are not offers to lend. Terms and conditions and offers are subject to change at any time.
Learn the basics about a credit score and how you can help a young person in your life get off to great start with their score. This 14-minute video is collaborative effort with Bridges Career Academies and Workplace Connection.
