When it comes to personal finances, knowing your credit score is extremely important. So what exactly goes into your credit file? Let’s talk about it.

Credit scoring is a complex science that’s something of a secret to the general public. While there are variations in the scores used by different credit reporting agencies, the industry-standard score is issued by FICO. 

Now, the exact methods behind FICO’s calculations aren’t exactly public knowledge, but they do publish the broad categories used for scoring — along with the percentage of importance for each category. You won’t be able to predict the exact number of points you can increase your score by over a six-month period. However, you can move your score in the right direction by improving your credit behavior across the FICO scoring categories.

Want the quick and easy takeaways? Jump to them.

1. Pay on time (35% of your score)

The most critical part of a good credit score is your payment history. Unfortunately, this is the hardest to increase over a short time period — like six months.

“The longer you can make payments on time, the higher your credit score will tend to go,” according to L.A.-based CPA Jeff Gonzalez. He continues, “By the same token, the further you can put late payments in the past, the more your current payment record will stand out.” 

Overall, your payment history counts for 35% of your FICO score, so this is an important area to attack if you want improvement. If you want to raise your score in just six months, make sure you keep your accounts current — missed payments are step backwards. Check in with each of your credit card issuers and other lenders to make sure you don’t miss any due dates.

The best way to mitigate missed payments and keeping your credit card accounts current? Set up automatic payments and make sure any other authorized users are on board with the plan!

2. Reduce your debt (30% of your score)

The amount of debt you have is nearly as important as your payment history when it comes to your credit score, clocking in at 30% of your FICO score. The good news? This is likely to be the easiest way to improve your score over a short time period. 

“For maximum effect,” notes Gonzalez, “just pay off your debt.” When you pay down debt, your score improves not just because of your reduced debt level, but also because of lowered credit utilization, or the amount of available credit that you currently use. 

If you reduce your credit utilization from 80% to 10% or less, for example, you should see a major bump in your score.

For example, if you have two credit cards that each have a $3,000 maximum, that’s a total of $6,000 you could borrow. Instead of maxing those cards out, keep them to no more than $600 total between the two of them, which is 10% of that $6,000. 

Sticking to this can keep you away from bad credit — so keep your credit card balances in check!

Gonzalez also recommends asking for a credit limit increase if you can’t manage to pay down your credit card debt right now. “Raising your credit line automatically decreases your credit utilization, so it’s a nifty way to help your score without costing you a dime.”

3. Keep cards open over time (15% of your score)

Keeping cards open, even if you don’t plan on using them, does a couple of great things to build credit. First, it keeps your total credit limit higher, which makes it easier to use just 10% of that total. 

For example, let’s say your total credit limit across all your cards is $12,000. You can borrow up to $1,200 and still only be at 10% of that total. But if you close one of those cards that has a $3,000 limit, your total limit drops to $9,000. You’d have to keep your balances below $900 instead of below $1,200. So keep those cards and credit lines open!

Additionally, 15% of your FICO score is based on the length of your credit history. If you close an account you’ve had for a while, you lose that history. While you can’t change the total length of your credit history overnight, keeping your lines of credit open over the next 6 months will give you a credit history that’s 6 months longer than it was before — just don’t close any older accounts during that time. 

4. Avoid credit applications (10% of your score)

Although new credit only accounts for 10% of your FICO score, credit inquiries knock an immediate 5 or 10 points off your score. If you’re trying to improve your credit score, the last thing you want to do is open new accounts. 

“You may get a small bump from the decreased credit utilization ratio that results from a new credit line, but the fresh credit inquiry is likely to counteract that gain,” says Gonzalez. 

Things like car loans and store cards count too, so if you want to raise your credit score, try not to take out a new car loan or apply for new credit cards. Do your best to put off new purchases that would require new credit. Instead, save up the cash you need ahead of time wherever you can.

Remember, this is only affected by “hard inquiries” that actually hit your credit. You can check your own credit score as often as you like, but if a store or other lender checks it because you’re interested in a credit card or a loan, that can hit your credit score even if you decide not to take their offer. Plus, once that hard inquiry is in your credit record, it will stay there for 2 years.

5. Keep a smart mix of credit types open (10%)

The last 10% of your score has to do with your credit mix — because credit comes in 2 basic types:

  1. Revolving credit — flexible credit you can use when you want to, like credit cards and store cards
  2. Installment loans — loans for a set amount that you pay off over time, like car loans and student loans

Ideally, creditors like to know that you have a good track record managing both kinds of debt, but you don’t want to open new credit accounts or loans to “fix” this one. Remember, applying for a new loan will often hurt your credit score more than it will help, and your mix of credit is only about 10% of your credit score.

What you can do is choose wisely when you’re paying off your debt:

  • Paying down high-interest credit cards is great! That lowers your debt while keeping your max credit limit up there, so go ahead and pay those off as quickly as you can. Remember, they’ll still be open even if you pay them off.
  • For debt with lower interest rates, like auto loans, you don’t need to be in a hurry. Keep paying your monthly minimums, but attack those high-interest credit cards first.

Quick and easy takeaways

Want a quick and easy place to start? Do this for the next 6 months:

  • Pay your bills on time 
  • Work on paying down your credit cards — but don’t close them

Stay patient and stick with it

A good credit history is based on the responsible use of credit over time. While you can certainly take steps to improve your score in as little as 6 months, major moves upward generally take longer. Patience and responsibility (like making your monthly payments) are key here. 

This is particularly true if you already have a spotless credit history. Since you already score well in the major FICO categories, improving that score by more than a few points can be difficult in a short time. 

On the other hand, having a negative credit history can drag down your score for as long as a decade: for example, filing bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years. If you have this type of negative information on your credit report, there’s no way to simply remove it in the short term.

Still, credit scores are weighted toward more recent behavior. You can help counteract any negative information, which diminishes in effect over time, by being a model borrower for as long as possible, committing to credit monitoring, making on-time payments, and continuing to practice good financial habits.