680 credit score

Benefits of a 680 Credit Score

Here are some benefits of a 680 credit score:

Decent Interest Rates

With a 680 credit score, you can expect decent interest rates. You may not necessarily get the best rates available, but your interest rates will likely be much better than those who have bad credit scores. 

A Variety of Loan Products to Choose From

With good credit, you’ll get to choose from several different loan products and credit cards to fit your financing needs. This can be a huge advantage, as you’ll get the ability to choose something that fits your finances well. You may not notice, but your options will be in stark contrast to borrowers who are in lower credit score ranges and may only have access to bad credit loans such as payday loans or title loans.

Fairly Easy Approval for Products and Credit

In most cases (as long you meet the income and other criteria), you will likely have a fairly easy time getting through the credit requirement for many loan products. This can be a great advantage when you need emergency funding or if you want to finance a purchase like a vehicle. 

Decent Loan Amounts and Credit Limits

As long as you meet the requirements for income and have a 680 credit score, you should be able to get decent loan amounts and credit limits. This can be helpful when you need a loan amount or credit limit that is more than just a few hundred dollars. 

How to Maintain Your 680 Credit Score

Getting good credit scores takes work! And once you get there, the last thing you want to do is hurt those scores. The good news is that there are several things you can do to help maintain your score; here are some tips:

Continue Making Your Monthly Payments on Time 

The most impactful factor that affects credit scores is payment history. And so, it is extremely important that you make your monthly payments on your credit accounts on time! Your payments to creditors are usually reported to at least one of the three major credit bureaus every month. And so it’s important to stay consistent. Even a few late payments can really hurt a good or fair credit standing.

Monitor Your Credit Reports

Another important thing you should be doing when trying to maintain your 680 credit score is to check your credit reports often. This may not seem like the most important thing at first, but there are a few reasons why it is crucial to check your report often. 

One reason is that mistakes can happen, which can hurt your score, and it falls on you to fix those. Another reason is that your credit reports are usually the first place that signs of identity theft or fraud will show up. 

You can get a free credit report from each credit bureau annually. However, experts recommend that you check it much more often than that.

Consider Your Credit Utilization Rate/Ratio

Your credit utilization ratio factors in the amount of debt you have against your existing available credit. After your payment history, your credit utilization also plays a large role in your credit scores. One way to maintain a good credit score/FICO score is to keep your credit utilization rate under 30%. Your debt-to-income ratio also plays a role in this ratio.

Familiarize Yourself With Credit Scores 

Credit scores are made up of several different factors, some of which have been mentioned above. There are also a few different credit scoring models out there—the FICO score and the Vantage Score are the most widely used. By familiarizing yourself with each credit scoring model, you can be strategic with your finances. 

Additionally, you can avoid actions that may make financial sense in one instance but hurt your credit score! One example is closing an unsecured credit card, which may be a good idea in that it can prevent unnecessary spending. However, doing so can decrease your credit limit and, therefore, hurt your credit score! 

Don’t Take Large Risks With Your Finances

When you have good credit, you may be asked by others to be a cosigner or co-borrower. However, doing so can put your credit scores at risk. 

Any actions that the person you cosign or co-borrow with will also be a part of your credit reports and history and, therefore, impact your credit scores. This also includes adding the debt to your portfolio. 

Although there is a possibility that another person will pay that debt on time, there is also the possibility that they will not. And so, you may want to avoid taking on these kinds of risks if you are trying to maintain a good credit score.