We’re all looking for ways to save money. Here’s one way you may have overlooked: Work to improve your credit score. Doing that could lower the interest rates you’re charged.
“It is always important to have good credit, but it’s never more important than at a time when interest rates are high and rising like we have now – and it’s not going to stop anytime terribly soon,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at Lending Tree. “So, the more you can do to improve your credit, the better off you’ll be, and it’ll end up putting a little bit of extra money in your pocket.”
Lending Tree ran the numbers to measure the impact of boosting credit scores from fair to very good. They looked at credit cards, personal loans, car loans, and mortgages.
“Because mortgages are such a different animal in terms of the amount of money that we’re talking about, mortgages were where the biggest impact could be found,” Schulz said. “But even with credit cards, personal loans, and auto loans, there is a significant difference in the amount of interest you pay and the cost of that loan if you have fair credit versus if you have really good credit.”
More Info: Raising a Fair Credit Score to Very Good Could Save Borrowers Nearly $50,000