How to Maintain a Good Credit Score: 5 Great Tips

How to Maintain a Good Credit Score: 5 Great Tips

Posted on April 21, 2022

We may not like the influence credit scores have on our lives but they are there nonetheless. Even if you have no plans for an auto loan or any borrowing, nobody knows what tomorrow brings so it’s useful to know how to maintain a good credit score and think about it when making lifestyle decisions.

How to Maintain a Good Credit Score

Our Port Colburn auto loan team outlines five common things they see all the time that negatively impact credit scores. Avoid these as much as you can!

Don't Miss Payments

Life is hectic and we all have more on our plate than at any time in history. Those are all valid reasons why we might miss a payment but they are no excuse.

If you have debt, it’s your responsibility to repay it. Otherwise your credit score can take a serious hit and it may prevent you from being able to borrow in the future.

There is no real excuse to miss credit payments. Use automatic payments from your bank to always pay on time and ensure there is sufficient money to make those payments.

If you cannot afford the auto loan, either reduce the amount you want to borrow or don’t get one. There are long term consequences to missing payments so avoid them at all costs.

Save

We appreciate that not everyone has spare cash at the end of the month but savings are vital to our wellbeing. They offer a security blanket to help out in emergencies and offer psychological benefits too. Knowing you have savings ready for anything can be a real weight off your mind!

You don’t have to save much but try to save something. Even $20-30 per month will build up over time in case of emergencies.

Budgeting

Budgeting is boring, we get that, but it’s also important. Knowing what you have coming in each month and what’s going out can help with savings and with everyday living.

If you know you’re going to be short of cash this month, you can adjust your grocery shopping and daily spending accordingly. If you know you’re going to have cash left over, you can send it to savings or treat yourself to make life a little more interesting.

Budgeting also helps manage debt and helps you plan for the future so is well worth doing.

Pay More than Minimum Amounts on your Credit Card

The minimum monthly payment on credit cards is exactly that, a minimum. They are designed to ensure you never miss a payment and continually service the debt while you have it.

Trouble is, once you owe more than a couple of hundred dollars on a credit card, the minimum payment only covers interest and won’t actually reduce the amount you owe.

We recommend paying as much as possible off your credit card whenever you can. Interest is expensive!

Shop Around Before you Buy

Whether it’s groceries, gas, car insurance, auto loans, utilities, cable, streaming services, phone contracts or something else, shopping around is essential.

There is more competition than ever before and shopping around ensures you get the best deal possible. We tend to settle with the same car insurer for years but there’s nothing stopping you seeing what else is out there.

Port Colburn auto loans are particularly competitive. We recommend doing a lot of research on rates and fees and then contacting our team to see if we can beat them. It could save you hundreds of dollars over the term of the loan!

When you’re ready for a car loan, get in touch with the Port Colburn auto loan experts at Northway Ford for great deals on auto finance.

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