Credit
How to Improve Your Credit Score in 90 Days
A week-by-week plan covering utilisation, disputes, authorised users and the small habits that move a FICO score fastest.
Read ArticleNo hype, no jargon and nothing we would not say to a client across the desk. Long-form articles on credit, saving and mortgages — the three topics people ask us about most.
Your credit score is not a mystery and it is not fixed. It is a formula with five inputs, and three of them respond within a single billing cycle. This guide walks through the first ninety days week by week — what to check, what to dispute, what to pay down first, and which "credit repair" tactics are actively wasting your money.
Read the Full GuideAcross the loans we arranged last year, the gap between a 640 and a 740 score averaged 2.8 percentage points on a personal loan and 1.1 points on a thirty-year mortgage. On a $400,000 mortgage that single point is roughly $86,000 over the life of the loan — more than most people earn in a year.
The good news is that scoring models reward a handful of specific behaviours quickly. The harder news is that they punish impatience: opening three new cards to "build credit" in one month will do more damage than the six months of on-time payments you were hoping would fix.
Realistic window for a meaningful jump
Utilisation target that moves scores fastest
A week-by-week plan covering utilisation, disputes, authorised users and the small habits that move a FICO score fastest.
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