Controlling Your Debt: How To Boost Your Credit Score A credit score acts much like your high school report card. It features a three-digit grade , which reflects a person's credit worthiness to potential creditors, banks, insurance companies, mortgage companies and even employers. The higher your score, the greater will be your chances of availing credit. Also ensure that you don't transfer your balance from a card that offers high interest, to a card that offers a lower interest rate. Pay-Off A Sizable Amount of Your Current Debts In order to build a good credit score, pay-off a sizable portion of your current debt load, since the more available credit you have, the more will your credit rating improve. - The problem with some credit monitoring agencies is that they charge fees which are unethically exorbitant. There also have been a few occasions where people cannot easily opt out of their credit monitoring service, even if they wanted to. While an unsatisfied credit monitoring agency client may wish to stop receiving, or reading credit reports, he or she will still be charged the monthly rate. A person s credit score ranges from 500 and 850, and this scale numerically defines a person s credit worthiness. The credit score is valued, and analyzed by banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, as well as by employers, mortgage companies, and even by your landlord. Once you obtain your credit score, make sure you regularly track your credit by signing-up for a free online credit report. In a credit report, all credit card accounts and loans are listed, as well as any loan balance, and how regularly you make or miss your payments. Today, a number of accredited credit bureaus gather and sell credit information, which are often stored in large databases, where prospective lenders, employers, insurers, government agencies, courts, and even landlords can easily open up and take a look at their client s files. According to credit experts, making a credit report inquiry only eats up around 10% of the criteria for a credit score adjustment, and some experts say that credit score may go down each time a credit report is requested. Will too many inquiries pull your credit score down? Here's a look at the real score when making credit report inquiries.