Understanding Your Credit Score: A Fresh Start for 2025
The new year brings fresh opportunities to strengthen your financial health, and one of the most powerful ways to do that is by understanding and improving your credit score. Here in central Wisconsin, a strong credit score can help you secure better rates on everything from home improvement projects to vehicle financing for that new snow-ready vehicle.
What Makes Up Your Credit Score?
Your credit score isn't just a random number - it's calculated based on several key factors that reflect your financial habits. Let's break down the main components:
Payment History accounts for 35% of your score, making it the most crucial factor. This tracks whether you've made your payments on time for credit cards, loans, and other accounts.
Credit Utilization takes up 30% of your score, measuring how much of your available credit you're using. For example, if you have a $5,000 credit card limit and maintain a $1,000 balance, your utilization is 20%.
Length of Credit History influences 15% of your score, considering how long you've had your credit accounts open. This is why that first credit card you opened years ago can be valuable to keep active.
Credit Mix and New Credit each make up 10% of your score, looking at the variety of credit types you manage and how often you open new accounts.
“You don’t have to navigate credit improvement alone. Our team here in Wausau is ready to help with free, personalized financial counseling.”
Practical Steps to Improve Your Score in 2025
Start with these actionable steps to boost your creditworthiness:
Monitor your credit report regularly for accuracy. As a PSCU member, our financial counselors can help you review your report and understand what impacts your score.
Set up automatic payments to ensure you never miss a due date. Future updates to our online banking tools make this simple with a new bill pay feature - just log in to your account and set up recurring payments for your loans and credit cards.
Consider a credit-building product. PSCU offers several options designed specifically to help members establish or rebuild credit. Our Kwik Cash loans provide a structured way to build a positive payment history, while our share-secured loans let you borrow against your savings while building credit.
How PSCU Can Help
You don't have to navigate credit improvement alone. Our team here in Wausau is ready to help with free, personalized financial counseling. Whether you want to understand your credit report, create a debt repayment strategy, or explore credit-building products, we're here to guide you.
Our financial counselors can help you:
Review your current credit report and identify areas for improvement
Create a personalized plan to raise your score
Understand how different financial decisions might impact your creditworthiness
Choose the right credit-building products for your situation
Take the First Step
Ready to start improving your credit score? Contact our member services team to schedule a free credit counseling session. You can reach us at info@publicservicecu.org or call (715) 842-9865. For questions about our credit-building loans, connect with our lending team at loans@publicservicecu.org.
Remember, building good credit is a journey, and as your local credit union, we're here to support you every step of the way. Whether you're working to establish credit for the first time or looking to improve your existing score, PSCU has the tools and expertise to help you achieve your goals in 2025.