At a Glance

Credit scores can fluctuate monthly due to several factors. Your score is calculated by evaluating your payment history and the amount owed relative to your total credit limits. Good practices for managing your credit, such as making payments on time, keeping low balances, and not opening multiple accounts too quickly, can help you maintain or even improve your score. Any negative marks like a delinquent account age off your report, if possible. A foreclosure seven years ago should no longer impact your score negatively. Taking advantage of the available options can help you manage and understand how often it changes so you can take steps to get the best score you can.

What is a credit score?

A credit score is a numerical representation of an individual’s financial creditworthiness, ranging from 300 to 850. It is calculated using a complex algorithm that considers multiple financial factors such as payment history, amount of outstanding debt, and types of credit used. A higher score indicates that an individual is a more reliable borrower in the eyes of lenders since it is deemed that they are taking better control of their finances. Understanding how one’s credit score is determined and how it impacts potential loan approvals, or terms can be invaluable for individuals seeking to maximize their financial health.

Related: Credit Score Ranges

What do credit score changes mean?

Changes to your credit score can significantly impact your financial future. For instance, increases in your credit score can result in better loan terms and interest rates. Likewise, a decrease in your credit score may lead to the denial of loan applications or expensive repayment options. Knowing what factors contribute to changes in your credit score is essential for engaging in sound financial practices. Factors such as timely payments, how much available borrowing you have, and how many accounts you open are all elements that affect your credit score. While it’s impossible to control all of these aspects perfectly, being conscious of them will help ensure that you take steps to maximize your credit score and secure the best possible outcomes for your future finances.

How often does your credit score change?

Your credit score represents your ability to manage your finances and balance responsibly, which is vital for many financial processes. Therefore, it’s essential to monitor your credit score often. Your score will update approximately every 30 days, depending on what lenders report to the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). It’s essential to recognize that several factors can influence how frequently the information changes, from when you use a credit card to when you take out a loan.

It’s also worth noting that one-time payment events, such as paying off debt or missing payments, may immediately impact your total score. To stay on top of things and ensure your wallet remains healthy, check in regularly with all three major consumer credit report providers at least once a year to review your progress and ensure it hasn’t been impacted by inaccurate information.

Why does credit score change?

Credit scores frequently change due to increased or decreased total debt levels, changes in types of credit utilized, recent credit activity (such as applications for new credit lines), bank account balances, and payment history. A lowering of the score may indicate an increased risk of default for lenders, while an increase in the score can suggest a greater ability to repay debts responsibly. Understanding why scores fluctuate can help individuals make better financial decisions and may even open opportunities for loans and other forms of financial assistance that otherwise wouldn’t be available.

1. Late payments

Late bills can quickly and drastically impact your credit score. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your total credit score and making even a single late payment on an account can cause a drop in points. Just one late payment will most likely stay on your credit report for up to seven years, depending on the source and severity of the incident. It’s important to note that not all late payments are equal. A late debit card payment may have upward of half the impact on your credit score as a missed mortgage or loan payment, so it’s important to prioritize paying higher-interest loans first. To ensure you don’t miss any due dates, create a budget with reminders to help keep track of what needs to be paid and when.

2. Changes in credit mix

Understanding how changes in credit mix can affect your credit score is an important part of making wise financial decisions. A healthy credit mix means having a good balance of secured loans (like a mortgage or auto loan) and unsecured loans (like credit cards or personal loans). Increasing or decreasing the ratio of either type of loan can cause fluctuations in your credit score.

For example, if you’ve just opened a new line of secured credit, such as a mortgage, and you don’t have any unsecured debt, this could increase your overall credit score. On the flip side, deciding to close unused lines of unsecured credits like lines of credit can negatively impact your score in certain circumstances. You can maintain a healthy score by keeping track of changes to your overall debt load, paying on time, and monitoring the ongoing changes in your credit mix.

3. Bankruptcies

Filing for bankruptcy can seriously affect your credit score. While the decision to file for bankruptcy is personal, you should know that it will likely cause a significant drop in your credit score since it signals to creditors that you are facing financial difficulty and may be unable to repay debts.

However, filing for bankruptcy does not mean your credit score will stay low indefinitely. If you keep up with payments on post-bankruptcy accounts, the negative impacts of bankruptcy on your credit score should start declining within a few years of filing. It’s important to note that while bankruptcy could significantly impact your credit score in the short term, you can rebuild it over time if you manage finances responsibly.

4. Hard credit inquiries

When lenders access your credit report, they typically make a hard credit inquiry. These inquiries are tallied each time you apply for a loan, new credit card, or another type of loan and can significantly and directly affect your overall credit score. Hard inquiries can lower your score anywhere from 0-5 points. Though they only have a small negative impact compared to other types of negative entries on your credit report, such as late payments, too many inquiries can start to add up and cause long term harm. If you plan to apply for several loans soon, it’s best to try and spread them out as much as possible over a longer period to minimize their effect on your credit score.

5. Age of accounts

The length of time your credit accounts have been open directly impacts your credit score. Having a longer credit history will result in higher scores as it allows more time for lenders to assess responsible borrowing habits. On the other hand, shorter credit histories usually lead to lower scores since the borrower has not had enough time for lenders to collect data about their financial track record.

While newer accounts can eventually boost a credit score, provided that payments are kept up-to-date and made on time, these accounts take some time to age, and it will take a while before they increase or translate into better rates from lenders. Therefore, if you’re looking to improve your credit score, maintaining the accounts you have open and demonstrating responsible payment behavior is the best way to do this.

6. Outstanding balances

Outstanding balances on your credit cards or lines of credit significantly affect your credit score. Increasing the debt you carry will likely lower your score, as lenders may not see your financial situation as reliable or trustworthy. Additionally, multiple unpaid accounts can impact your overall utilization rate, defined as the total card balances relative to the combined credit limits.

A high utilization rate signals to lenders that you may not be able to take on any more debt and do not adequately manage the debt you already have. Therefore, to maintain a good credit score, it is important to monitor outstanding balances and ensure they are paid off regularly and on time.

How often do credit reports update?

Understanding how often your credit report updates is an important component of managing and improving your credit. Credit reports update when new information is provided to the three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This may include payment history, collections accounts, or other changes to your existing information, which could positively or negatively affect your credit score.

Most creditors submit data to the credit bureaus monthly – meaning that you may see up to 24 updates within one year. Keeping an eye on your credit report will help you make informed decisions about your financial future.

How to check your credit report?

Checking your credit report is an important step toward ensuring good financial health. It allows you to remain on top of all the transactions that have affected your credit score so that you can be sure of the details when applying for a loan or getting insurance. It also helps in detecting any fraudulent activities, if there are any. Checking your credit report is easy and can be done by ordering one online or through a credit bureau. You should review it every four months to make sure everything is up-to-date and accurate. Over time, keeping track of your credit reports will help you understand how to maintain or improve them.

FAQs

Your credit score is an essential aspect of your overall financial health, and it can be helpful to stay informed on when and how your score will go up or down. Your credit score will increase as you demonstrate responsible use of any existing revolving accounts, such as a credit card. Additionally, establishing a new loan or other types of installment payment account, such as a car loan, may also cause your score to rise if you make consistent on-time payments each month.
On the other hand, late payments can damage your credit health and cause significant declines in your credit score. Moreover, applying for new lines of credit too often within a short period can lower your score by increasing the number of hard inquiries on your report. It’s essential to keep track of all updates that affect your credit profile, so there are no surprises along the way.

Credit scores are generally updated around the same day of the month—usually midway through the month. The exact date may vary depending on when a credit score provider first gets access to updated consumer credit data, so it’s essential to check with your provider and ensure you have the latest update.

If all credit scores were to reset, it could cause significant disruptions in the financial markets as many people would no longer have access to credit, and their ability to purchase items utilizing debt would be significantly reduced. The economic impact of such an event would likely result in a decrease in consumer spending and a corresponding drop in the value of investments that rely on consumer demand. By decreasing consumer spending, businesses across the nation will suffer, which could lead to layoffs and financial insecurity. Additionally, many people’s ability to secure loans for vehicles, housing, and more would diminish drastically if all credit scores were to reset. Such an event could take years to recover from, affecting individuals who rely on credit and often entire communities.