A 6-step Guide to Building a Solid Credit Score

In these times of uncertainty, building and maintaining healthy credit is of paramount importance, and there are straightforward and time-tested ways of doing it.

You need to build a solid credit score if you live in the United States. FGC/Shutterstock

By Aidan Sowa

Credit rating is a crucial factor not just in securing a mortgage, credit card, or loan—it can dramatically affect everything from car insurance and mobile phone contract rates to overall employability.

What Is a Credit Score?

Put simply, this is a three-digit number any lender looks at to estimate how risky a borrower you are likely to be: the higher it is, the better off you’ll be in terms of acceptability and interest rates.

Lenders usually use the FICO credit scoring model—its scores ranging from 350 to 850—and incorporate five factors when calculating it: payment history (30 percent importance), total amount of debt owed (25 percent), length of credit card history (25 percent), credit mix (10 percent), and new credit (10 percent).