When Is Your Credit Score High Enough?
Easy access to free credit scores has helped many Americans improve their credit. But at a certain point, chasing every possible point gets you nothing except bragging rights. How do…
Bev O'Shea
Bev writes about credit scores and credit reports for NerdWallet. Her work has been featured in USA Today, the Christian Science Monitor and MSN Money. She mostly follows her own advice about not worrying about a perfect score (although she had one for at least a few minutes). In her free time, she enjoys music, fitness, murder mysteries and dark chocolate.
Posts by Bev O'Shea:
Does Divorce Show Up on My Credit Report?
Your credit report contains a wealth of personal data — your name and Social Security number, birthdate, phone numbers and past addresses — but your marital status is not included.…
How I Ditched Debt: Kicking Frugality Into High Gear
In this series, NerdWallet interviews people who have triumphed over debt using a combination of commitment, budgeting and smart financial choices. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. …
How Your Tax Refund Could Improve Your Credit
Money can’t buy you a good credit score, but you might be able to use your income tax refund strategically to polish your credit. How to go about it depends…
What Is a Thin Credit File, and How Can You Plump It Up?
If you have a thin credit file, it means that there’s not enough information in your credit reports to generate a credit score. A thin file makes it difficult to…
Why Do I Have So Many Credit Scores?
Now that it’s so easy to get your credit score for free, you may have checked it several times in several places — personal finance sites, credit card issuers, your…
Why Did My Credit Score Drop?
When your credit score takes an unexpected turn downward, it can cause concern or frustration. Credit scores do fluctuate a bit over time, and a couple of points up or down…
What Is the Average Credit Score?
When checking your credit, you might wonder how you stack up against the average credit score or compare to others in your age group. The average FICO credit score in 2018…
5 Smart Ways to Use and Repay Holiday Debt
If glitzy ads and the scent of evergreens entice you to choose debt when you mean to choose joy, your holiday may already be haunted by the Ghost of Christmas…
How Often Do My Credit Reports Update?
If you pay off a credit card balance or get a higher credit limit, you may want to see the change reflected in your credit report. Or, if you made…
