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Credit Score

Black marks fall off credit reports in July

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Starting July 1, the credit scores of up to 14 million people could begin to rise as credit reports are scrubbed of nearly all civil judgments and many tax liens.

Consumer advocates hail the data’s deletion as a long-overdue victory for people whose scores were unfairly dinged by inaccurate information. Others worry the changes could inflate the scores of risky borrowers and have a catastrophic impact on lenders.

People shouldn’t expect an immediate jump in their scores, however.

In my latest for the Associated Press, how the process will work and when you can expect to see changes.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How to assess your credit card needs after divorce. Also in the news: Generation Z is off to a strong start with credit, why your friend has a better credit score than you, and how to ensure your gift cards don’t go to waste.

How to Assess Your Credit Card Needs After Divorce
How to determine what you need.

‘Gen Z’ Off to Strong Start With Credit, Analysis Shows
The fiscally responsible generation?

Why Your Friend Has a Better Credit Score Than You
Sifting through the possibilities.

How to ensure your gift cards don’t go to waste
Don’t toss away free money.

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: How to take the heat off your summer budget. Also in the news: How to find out if you’ll owe taxes on an inheritance, 3 things your student loan servicer might not tell you, and what happens to your credit score when you transfer a balance.

How to Take the Heat Off Your Summer Budget
Keep your costs in check.

Find Out If You’ll Owe Taxes on an Inheritance
Don’t spend all that money quite yet.

3 Things Your Student Loan Servicer Might Not Tell You
They’re not always forthcoming.

What Happens to Your Credit Score When You Transfer a Balance?
Looking at the numbers.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: 7 tax tips for new college grads. Also in the news: Why many people don’t know the cost of bad credit, how to travel on the cheap, and the death of payday loans.

7 Tax Tips for New College Grads
It’s a whole new tax world.

How Costly Is Bad Credit? Many Don’t Know, Survey Shows
A look at just how expensive bad credit can be.

To Travel Cheap, Steer Clear of These Booking Flubs
Don’t make these mistakes.

Payday loans are dying. Problem solved? Not quite
The slow death of payday lending.

Q&A: So many credit scores — here’s how to get yours

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Dear Liz: You recently discussed FICO scores. Please let me know how I can get mine. My bank says it can only give my husband his score because he is the principal on our account.

Answer: Remember that you don’t have one FICO credit score, you have many. Lenders use different versions and generations of the FICO formula. In addition, FICOs will differ based on which credit bureau was used. So your bank may give your husband a FICO Bankcard Score 2 based on information from Experian, while an auto lender might use a FICO Auto Score 5 from Equifax. These scores almost certainly will differ from his FICO 8 scores, which are the most commonly used scores. The FICOs for credit cards and autos typically are on a 250-to-900 scale, while FICO 8 is on a 300-to-850 scale.

Anyone can get free FICO 8 scores based on Experian data from Experian’s consumer site, Freecreditscore.com, and from credit card Discover at Discover.com. Several other credit card issuers — including American Express, Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo — offer FICOs of various kinds to cardholders.

If you want to see a broader range of your FICO scores, you can buy a three-bureau report from MyFico.com for about $60 that includes FICO 8s, FICO 9s and the most commonly used scores in mortgage, credit card and auto lending from each bureau.

Q&A: How to improve your FICO score

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Dear Liz: My FICO score is just under 800. The reason given that it is not higher is that I don’t have any non-mortgage leases. What would be the cheapest way to remedy this without buying something expensive?

Answer: When you get your credit scores, you may be given sometimes-vague reasons for why they’re not higher or lower. The “reason code” you saw probably said something like “no recent non-mortgage balance information.” What that means is that you haven’t been using revolving accounts such as credit cards. To get higher scores, you’d need to dust off your plastic and use it once in a while. (You don’t need to carry a balance to get or keep good scores, however. You can and should pay credit card balances in full each month.)

Any improvement in your scores is likely to be modest, however. Your numbers are already high and the factor known as “mix of credit” — which means responsibly using both revolving and installment accounts — accounts for just 10% of your FICO scores. Plus, there’s no real point in having scores over 800, other than to brag about them. Once your scores exceed 760 or so, you’re already eligible for the best rates and terms.