How to keep up your credit score

Source: www.Freep.com

These days, a good score is around 720 points or higher. Here are some tips to help you maintain or improve your credit score:

• Do not apply for several credit cards. Applying for a store credit card could cut 10 points off the credit score of some consumers with good credit.
• Pay all bills on time -- utilities, mortgage, credit cards, etc. Lenders customarily don't report you as late to the credit bureaus until you have missed the original due date by at least 30 days. Being a month late with all payments, for example, might lower a credit score by from 60 to 110 points.
• Missing a payment on one account that wasn't already late could slice 40 to 75 points from some credit scores.
• Keep your credit card balances low on all cards, much lower than half of the available limit on your credit cards. Maxing out can cut credit scores by 45 to 100 points.
• Negotiating a debt settlement with creditors can lower some credit scores by 45 to 125 points. A short sale on a home would be reported as a debt settlement.
• A loan modification to get a lower mortgage payment and stay in your home could impact your credit score. In some cases, consumers could see credit scores drop by 100 to 150 points.
• Having your home foreclosed on could knock 45 to 100 points off your credit score, depending on where your score started.
• Filing for bankruptcy will hurt some credit scores by 195 to 255 points.