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How frequently do you check your credit score

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Carol
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FICO score - A complete overview

The term FICO is the short form of Fair Isaac Corporation, who built up the empirical model for credit score calculation. Hence the term FICO got coupled with the score they invented. FICO score is the most popular among all that prevail in the market. The credit system of the country is widely dependent on this model. This is a tool used by creditors to determine the creditworthiness of the consumers. So if one wishes to acquire more credit, it becomes mandatory to understand the system FICO uses, in details.


Three major credit bureaus of the country, namely Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, offer FICO scores, wrapped in their own trade names with hierarchy of versions. For example, Equifax offers Beacon, Beacon 96 and Pinnacle. Empirica, Empirica Auto 95, Precision Score and Precision 03 are calculated by TransUnion. And with Experian, we call it Fair Isaac Risk Score.

These versions are changed and updated according to the market trends. However, few creditors and lenders sometimes prefer using the older version, which they think to be most accurate.

The variables used in your FICO Score calculation

It is needless to say that the exact formulae behind the credit score calculation is a trade secret. However, Fair Isaac has revealed few factors that play significant role in the calculation -


FactorDependance
Payment history35%
Debt amount30%
Life of credit history15%
Type of credit10%
Recent shopping for credit10%

If above points are split, millions of other factors would become visible. Say for example, the word, payment history says nothing if the consumer passed through a judgment or filed bankruptcy. Payment history merely means how much punctual an individual is when it comes to paying their bills. But events like judgment, bankruptcy and foreclosure push credit score down the slope. Similarly, numerous credit card accounts might restrict score from going up. Also the term type of credit is not sufficient to describe the saturated credit mix.

Computing FICO score is a statistical method because statistical reports are more believable than speculative data. The FICO scoring system compare all the above information with different pre-experienced results and the score is awarded at last. These are something that requires extensive research and skill. Interact with the community to inspect more on FICO.

Fair Isaac has developed scoring model for United States, Canada and South Africa. However, there is another version "Global FICO"? made for many other countries. A new system, which is going to offer a new score, known as VantageScore, has thrown a challenge to FICO. The old adage "The only constant in the universe is change" is true for everything, however, which one would stand the thrust of time is still a question.

 

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carol

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 8:56 am    Post subject:

I do not check my credit score frequently except when am palnning to shop for new credit. I generally check it on a quarterly basis.

~Carol

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TexasGuy
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:31 am    Post subject:

I tend to do it on a half yearly basis. Its just a wastage of money to me.
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TexasGuy
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:44 am    Post subject:

Hey Mary, where to cast my vote?? Confused
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Mary

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:59 am    Post subject:

Hi TexasGuy,

To cast your vote you need to join the credit magic community and login using your username and password. Once you login and try to reply to this topic you will get the 'Poll' option just before 'Subject' field.

To be a registered user click here Sign up is free .. moreover you get the opportunity to actively participate like us Very Happy .

Thanks

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TexasGuy

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:47 pm    Post subject:

Hey Mary,

I am now a part of this community Smile And what else ... I can now cast my vote too Very Happy

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Richard
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Richard

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:38 pm    Post subject:

Hi TexasGuy,

Welcome to our community. We are here to help each other build up healthy credit for a better tomorrow. We are eager to see you as an active contributor as well. Enjoy your stay and please let us know if we can help you anytime.

BTW I avail the Equifax Credit Watch Silver (costs around $49.95 pa) which enables me to monitor any changes in my credit report. I prefer to check my FICO scores on a Quarterly basis.

Thanks,
Richard

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Mary

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 7:43 am    Post subject:

TexasGuy, good to see you as a part of our community. Enjoy your stay Very Happy and let us know if you need any support.
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jayandcherri5



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:27 pm    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

I think this topic is great but how frequently should we check our fico score. ANd by checking it does it affect our score?
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singrl310



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PostPosted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:56 pm    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

yeah cuase with all this fraud and defaults its hard to keep up with
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nickmontgomery



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 18, 2007 12:27 am    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

Quarterly
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huffman408



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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:23 am    Post subject:

I get my score every month but I print out my report every 3-4 months
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Crwilson82



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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:05 pm    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

your score can change dramatically from month to month due to many factors.
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Emmy

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:40 am    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

I think FICO should be checked twice a year as a base for purchase planning. If a large purchase ie mortgage is being planned then purchasing on a quarterly or even monthly may be needed to be considered. During the repair process it helps to chart the progress to purchase more than once a year.
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clv23b



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PostPosted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:11 am    Post subject: How frequently should we check our FICO score?

I think yearly because of chance of change on your report by your creditors yearly unless negative info. is reported whenever received
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