For a lot of people, applying for a credit card or leasing a new vehicle is a financial dream. If this is the case for you, one of the most important factors you need to consider is your credit score. A credit score is used by lenders to determine what the risk of loaning money to an applicant is. This number will oftentimes impact the amount you are offered and at what interest rate. Knowing what factors truly matter towards generating your credit score is helpful if you are interested in qualifying for the best interest rate or maximizing your score’s potential. Read on for the five most important factors affecting your credit score.

Payment History

When it comes to influencing your credit score one of the most important factors, if not the most important, is your payment history. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your score. So what is your payment history? This factor includes whether you have made your past credit payments on time or if you made a payment late, how late, and how many times you have been late. Payment history is viewed by potential lenders as an indicator of how likely you are to be able to pay off your debt. The best action you can take to help your payment history is to make it a priority to pay your bill on time each month. You can even make it easier on yourself and set up automatic payments.

Lengths of Credit History

Moving onto another area of focus: length of credit history. This factor looks at how long you have been managing credit and makes up 15% of your total score. This percentage is comprised of the following:

• How long your credit accounts have been open

• How long it has been since you have used your accounts

• How long these accounts have been established

Ultimately, having a long credit history benefits you in the long run. Something you can avoid that will help your credit history is not closing your account after you’ve finished paying off your debt.

Credit Utilization

Accounting for another 30% of your total score is your credit utilization. Typically, this number refers to the amount of your available credit you use. A best practice for your credit utilization that financial experts recommend is to use no more than 30 percent of your credit. In most cases of people with higher credit scores, it was found that they use way less than that 30 percent. Lenders tend to favor lower credit utilization because it shows you can use credit responsibly without having to rely entirely on it. To improve your utilization rate, experts recommend setting high balance alerts or to make additional monthly payments when you can do so.

Credit Mix

Did you know the types of credit accounts you have also influence your total score? A few of the different accounts you can have are:

• Credit cards

• Mortgage

• Store accounts

• Loans

Although your credit mix only makes up about 10% of your score, having a diverse range of accounts can boost your score since it demonstrates you can responsibly manage accounts in various areas of finance. If you don’t have a range of credit accounts, the last thing you should do is take on new debt to contribute to your credit mix. If your credit reports show that you can effectively manage your existing accounts, you should see a healthy score.

New Credit

The last factor you should consider is how many new credit accounts you have. New credit can mean how many accounts you have opened recently or the date of your last new account. Why does this matter? Every time you apply for a new credit card or a loan, lenders will conduct a hard inquiry during which they review your credit information. A hard pull will in turn cause a small or temporary decline of your score. The more credit checks you have done, the more you’ll see your credit score decline. Additionally, various new credit accounts can be a signal for cash flow problems causing the system to negatively impact your score.

If you have ever wondered what exactly goes into formulating your credit score, we hope this has given you a quick snapshot of all the important factors. A healthy credit score is a great asset to have nowadays but that shouldn’t mean you need to fixate on each factor to elevate your score into an extraordinary one. If you hold on to one takeaway from us, let it be that if you manage your credit effectively and responsibly, your hard work will be reflected in the score.

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*Note: The Brink’s Money Prepaid Mastercard does not offer credit building.