The five factors that move your score.

Your credit score can feel like a mystery, but it really comes down to five things. Once you know what they are, you stop guessing and start making decisions on purpose. Here is each factor and roughly how much it counts.

• Payment history (about 35%). Whether you pay on time. This is the single biggest factor. One late payment stings, and a pattern of them hurts much more.
• Amounts owed and utilization (about 30%). How much of your available credit you are actually using. Lower is better, and this is the lever you can move fastest.
• Length of credit history (about 15%). How long your accounts have been open. Older is better, which is exactly why closing an old card can backfire.
• Credit mix (about 10%). The variety of accounts you carry, such as cards, an auto loan, or a mortgage. It helps a little, but it is never worth taking on debt you do not need.
• New credit (about 10%). How many new accounts and hard inquiries you have opened recently. Several at once can look risky to a lender.

Notice where the weight sits. Payment history and utilization together make up about two thirds of the whole picture. If you only have energy for two habits, make them paying on time and keeping balances low.

Focus on the two factors that count the most, and the rest tends to follow.

If you are not sure where you stand on any of these, that is normal, and it is exactly the kind of thing we walk through together on a first call.

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