3 Things that Impact Your Credit Score and How to Avoid Bad Credit
Your credit score is key to financial flexibility. It’s often used when you buy a house, get a car loan, open a bank account, or do just about anything that requires a third-party to have financial confidence in you.
Your credit score is key to financial flexibility. It’s often used when you buy a house, get a car loan, open a bank account, or do just about anything that requires a third-party to have financial confidence in you.
What goes into a credit score? How do you avoid bad credit? Let’s look at the three most important things impacting your credit score and what you can do to improve it.
Your Payment History
According to the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), the company responsible for the credit score used by 90% of the top lenders, your payment history makes up more than one-third of your overall credit score. Whether you make your payments on time is a massive indicator of how financially reliable you are, which is why it has such an impact on your credit score.
Does it really matter if you miss a few payments? Yes. One late payment can stay on your credit report for up to seven years. Of all the things you can do with your money, making payments when you say you’re going to make them is incredibly important.
The Amount of Money You Owe
The second most important thing impacting your credit score is how much you owe. Remember, a credit score is a numerical number that attempts to represent how likely you are to default on a loan. When your outstanding loan total makes up 30% of your overall credit score, keeping debts low makes you a more worthwhile prospect to a lender than someone struggling to stay afloat.
If you want to avoid bad credit, do everything in your power to demonstrate a lower risk to lenders. One of the best ways to do this is by paying down existing debt.
The Length of Your Credit History
The third biggest factor that goes into your personal credit score is the length of your credit history. In simple terms, this 15% of your credit score is dictated by how long you’ve been doing things that demonstrate good or bad borrowing habits. If you have just started utilizing and building credit, you’re going to have a shorter credit history. If you’ve been borrowing and paying back money successfully for a long time, the longer credit history makes you more reliable on paper to lenders.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve just started building your credit history. If you keep doing the right things repeatedly, your credit history length will grow, and your score will go up.
Putting The Rest Together – Avoiding Bad Credit
Although we’ve talked about the three largest factors that could impact your credit score, there are plenty of other variables that can change your score in an instant. From your overall credit mix and new credit inquiries to bankruptcies, your financial past can quickly change your present.
In the end, if you want to improve your credit score and avoid the pitfalls that come with poor credit, all you have to do is demonstrate that you’re a trustworthy borrower. Live up to your obligations, make your payments on time, and don’t get overextended. If you do these things repeatedly, you’ll be a credit score rockstar in no time. If you want to learn more about building your credit score, check out our article, “3 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score.”
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Legal
Developers
Unless indicated differently, data is as of 03/31/2025.
*Disclosures
Beanstox does not provide tax, legal, accounting, budgeting, credit score, or banking advice. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute such advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with their personal tax, legal, and accounting professionals for specific guidance.
Beanstox has partnered with April Tax Solutions Inc. to offer helpful tax-related tools to Beanstox Clients. Beanstox does not provide tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for additional information regarding tax matters. April Tax Solutions Inc. is a third-party service provider and is not affiliated with Beanstox.
* Open a Traditional IRA with Beanstox and boost your federal tax refund by up to $22 for every $100 you contribute by April 15, 2025 (or up to $1,540 assuming 22% on the maximum contribution of $7,000). Then file your taxes effortlessly with the easy-to-use tax tool powered by april and claim the IRA deduction.
ᶿ Maximum refund guarantee is provided by April Tax Solutions Inc.. If you use april's service to prepare and file your return and you find an error in the tax preparation that entitles you to a larger refund (or smaller liability), you may use their service to amend that return at no additional charge. To qualify, the larger refund or smaller tax liability must not be due to differences or inaccuracies in data supplied by you, your choice not to claim a deduction or credit, positions taken on your return that are contrary to law, or changes in federal or state tax laws.
If April Tax Solutions Inc.'s tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, April Tax Solutions Inc. will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000.
1. Pricing: Learn About Pricing.
2. Power Savings: As of March 31, 2025: traditional US Savings Account Rate: 0.41% (YCharts); T-Bill yield: 4.21% (YCharts); 4.4% based on the 30-day SEC yield of the Beanstox short-duration bond portfolio ETF constituents; the 30-day SEC yield is a standard metric defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and reflects the dividends and interest earned during the period after the deduction of the ETF’s expenses. There are no assurances that this yield will be sustainable in the future. This product invests in one or more ETFs. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors.
3. Stocks 500: Where applicable, as of March 31, 2025, S&P 500 return assumes an initial $1,000 investment, 40-year annualized return of 10% (Source: Bloomberg Finance LP). It is not possible to invest directly in an index. This product invests in an ETF aiming to track the S&P 500’s performance. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors. Returns before ETF fees. Diversification is not a guarantee of profit or protection against loss.
4. Wealth Builder: Saving $400/month over 40 years, but not investing and assuming no interest accrual, would accumulate $192,000; however, investing the same $400/month, could add up to over $1 million over the same period of time. This projection illustrates a hypothetical example of compounding over time, based on an investment of $400 per month for 40 years with an assumed annualized returns of 8% or more, compounded monthly, assuming the funds stay invested throughout the investment period.
5. All corporate logos are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
6. App store rating is as of 03/31/2025, and is based upon all ratings and reviews received by Apple App Store and Google Play Store (collectively, the “App Stores”) submitted since the Beanstox app was available on each App Store. Current rating can be found on Beanstox’s app preview in each App Store and is subject to change. App Store rating is generally calculated and generated by each App Stores based on the average of all total Beanstox app ratings. No compensation was exchanged for reviews or ratings. Rating may not be representative of the Beanstox client experience, advisory services, or investment performance. For more information, see more reviews at the App Store and Google Play Store.
New Products: We are excited about the development of new products, although there are no assurances that these products will be implemented or offered to Beanstox App users, or that final details on how the products will be offered will not differ from those currently contemplated.
Beanstox Inc. (“Beanstox”) is an SEC registered investment adviser and has arranged for brokerage services to be provided by DriveWealth LLC., a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. DriveWealth is not affiliated with Beanstox.
Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and risk tolerance levels and Beanstox’s charges and expenses. The information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice, recommendations or solicitations to hold, buy or sell any investment or security of any kind. Beanstox’s internet-based advisory services are designed to assist clients in achieving investment goals. They are not intended to provide comprehensive tax advice or financial planning with respect to every aspect of a client’s financial situation and do not incorporate specific investments that clients hold elsewhere. For more details, see our Form ADV Part 2A and Part 3 CRS and other disclosures.
All images and return figures shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not actual customer or model returns. Actual returns will vary greatly and depend on personal and market conditions. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S.
Our site uses cookies and other similar technologies so that we can remember you and understand how you and other visitors use our site. Please see Beanstox Privacy Policy for more information.
© 2025 Beanstox Inc.
Copyright © 2025 Beanstox. All Rights Reserved
Legal
Developers
Unless indicated differently, data is as of 03/31/2025.
*Disclosures
Beanstox does not provide tax, legal, accounting, budgeting, credit score, or banking advice. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute such advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with their personal tax, legal, and accounting professionals for specific guidance.
Beanstox has partnered with April Tax Solutions Inc. to offer helpful tax-related tools to Beanstox Clients. Beanstox does not provide tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for additional information regarding tax matters. April Tax Solutions Inc. is a third-party service provider and is not affiliated with Beanstox.
* Open a Traditional IRA with Beanstox and boost your federal tax refund by up to $22 for every $100 you contribute by April 15, 2025 (or up to $1,540 assuming 22% on the maximum contribution of $7,000). Then file your taxes effortlessly with the easy-to-use tax tool powered by april and claim the IRA deduction.
ᶿ Maximum refund guarantee is provided by April Tax Solutions Inc.. If you use april's service to prepare and file your return and you find an error in the tax preparation that entitles you to a larger refund (or smaller liability), you may use their service to amend that return at no additional charge. To qualify, the larger refund or smaller tax liability must not be due to differences or inaccuracies in data supplied by you, your choice not to claim a deduction or credit, positions taken on your return that are contrary to law, or changes in federal or state tax laws.
If April Tax Solutions Inc.'s tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, April Tax Solutions Inc. will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000.
1. Pricing: Learn About Pricing.
2. Power Savings: As of March 31, 2025: traditional US Savings Account Rate: 0.41% (YCharts); T-Bill yield: 4.21% (YCharts); 4.4% based on the 30-day SEC yield of the Beanstox short-duration bond portfolio ETF constituents; the 30-day SEC yield is a standard metric defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and reflects the dividends and interest earned during the period after the deduction of the ETF’s expenses. There are no assurances that this yield will be sustainable in the future. This product invests in one or more ETFs. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors.
3. Stocks 500: Where applicable, as of March 31, 2025, S&P 500 return assumes an initial $1,000 investment, 40-year annualized return of 10% (Source: Bloomberg Finance LP). It is not possible to invest directly in an index. This product invests in an ETF aiming to track the S&P 500’s performance. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors. Returns before ETF fees. Diversification is not a guarantee of profit or protection against loss.
4. Wealth Builder: Saving $400/month over 40 years, but not investing and assuming no interest accrual, would accumulate $192,000; however, investing the same $400/month, could add up to over $1 million over the same period of time. This projection illustrates a hypothetical example of compounding over time, based on an investment of $400 per month for 40 years with an assumed annualized returns of 8% or more, compounded monthly, assuming the funds stay invested throughout the investment period.
5. All corporate logos are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
6. App store rating is as of 03/31/2025, and is based upon all ratings and reviews received by Apple App Store and Google Play Store (collectively, the “App Stores”) submitted since the Beanstox app was available on each App Store. Current rating can be found on Beanstox’s app preview in each App Store and is subject to change. App Store rating is generally calculated and generated by each App Stores based on the average of all total Beanstox app ratings. No compensation was exchanged for reviews or ratings. Rating may not be representative of the Beanstox client experience, advisory services, or investment performance. For more information, see more reviews at the App Store and Google Play Store.
New Products: We are excited about the development of new products, although there are no assurances that these products will be implemented or offered to Beanstox App users, or that final details on how the products will be offered will not differ from those currently contemplated.
Beanstox Inc. (“Beanstox”) is an SEC registered investment adviser and has arranged for brokerage services to be provided by DriveWealth LLC., a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. DriveWealth is not affiliated with Beanstox.
Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and risk tolerance levels and Beanstox’s charges and expenses. The information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice, recommendations or solicitations to hold, buy or sell any investment or security of any kind. Beanstox’s internet-based advisory services are designed to assist clients in achieving investment goals. They are not intended to provide comprehensive tax advice or financial planning with respect to every aspect of a client’s financial situation and do not incorporate specific investments that clients hold elsewhere. For more details, see our Form ADV Part 2A and Part 3 CRS and other disclosures.
All images and return figures shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not actual customer or model returns. Actual returns will vary greatly and depend on personal and market conditions. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S.
Our site uses cookies and other similar technologies so that we can remember you and understand how you and other visitors use our site. Please see Beanstox Privacy Policy for more information.
© 2025 Beanstox Inc.
Copyright © 2025 Beanstox. All Rights Reserved
Legal
Developers
Unless indicated differently, data is as of 03/31/2025.
*Disclosures
Beanstox does not provide tax, legal, accounting, budgeting, credit score, or banking advice. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute such advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with their personal tax, legal, and accounting professionals for specific guidance.
Beanstox has partnered with April Tax Solutions Inc. to offer helpful tax-related tools to Beanstox Clients. Beanstox does not provide tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor for additional information regarding tax matters. April Tax Solutions Inc. is a third-party service provider and is not affiliated with Beanstox.
* Open a Traditional IRA with Beanstox and boost your federal tax refund by up to $22 for every $100 you contribute by April 15, 2025 (or up to $1,540 assuming 22% on the maximum contribution of $7,000). Then file your taxes effortlessly with the easy-to-use tax tool powered by april and claim the IRA deduction.
ᶿ Maximum refund guarantee is provided by April Tax Solutions Inc.. If you use april's service to prepare and file your return and you find an error in the tax preparation that entitles you to a larger refund (or smaller liability), you may use their service to amend that return at no additional charge. To qualify, the larger refund or smaller tax liability must not be due to differences or inaccuracies in data supplied by you, your choice not to claim a deduction or credit, positions taken on your return that are contrary to law, or changes in federal or state tax laws.
If April Tax Solutions Inc.'s tax preparation software makes a mathematical error that results in your payment of a penalty and/or interest to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that you would otherwise not have been required to pay, April Tax Solutions Inc. will reimburse you up to a maximum of $10,000.
1. Pricing: Learn About Pricing.
2. Power Savings: As of March 31, 2025: traditional US Savings Account Rate: 0.41% (YCharts); T-Bill yield: 4.21% (YCharts); 4.4% based on the 30-day SEC yield of the Beanstox short-duration bond portfolio ETF constituents; the 30-day SEC yield is a standard metric defined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and reflects the dividends and interest earned during the period after the deduction of the ETF’s expenses. There are no assurances that this yield will be sustainable in the future. This product invests in one or more ETFs. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors.
3. Stocks 500: Where applicable, as of March 31, 2025, S&P 500 return assumes an initial $1,000 investment, 40-year annualized return of 10% (Source: Bloomberg Finance LP). It is not possible to invest directly in an index. This product invests in an ETF aiming to track the S&P 500’s performance. Results may vary due to expenses and other factors. Returns before ETF fees. Diversification is not a guarantee of profit or protection against loss.
4. Wealth Builder: Saving $400/month over 40 years, but not investing and assuming no interest accrual, would accumulate $192,000; however, investing the same $400/month, could add up to over $1 million over the same period of time. This projection illustrates a hypothetical example of compounding over time, based on an investment of $400 per month for 40 years with an assumed annualized returns of 8% or more, compounded monthly, assuming the funds stay invested throughout the investment period.
5. All corporate logos are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
6. App store rating is as of 03/31/2025, and is based upon all ratings and reviews received by Apple App Store and Google Play Store (collectively, the “App Stores”) submitted since the Beanstox app was available on each App Store. Current rating can be found on Beanstox’s app preview in each App Store and is subject to change. App Store rating is generally calculated and generated by each App Stores based on the average of all total Beanstox app ratings. No compensation was exchanged for reviews or ratings. Rating may not be representative of the Beanstox client experience, advisory services, or investment performance. For more information, see more reviews at the App Store and Google Play Store.
New Products: We are excited about the development of new products, although there are no assurances that these products will be implemented or offered to Beanstox App users, or that final details on how the products will be offered will not differ from those currently contemplated.
Beanstox Inc. (“Beanstox”) is an SEC registered investment adviser and has arranged for brokerage services to be provided by DriveWealth LLC., a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. DriveWealth is not affiliated with Beanstox.
Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and risk tolerance levels and Beanstox’s charges and expenses. The information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice, recommendations or solicitations to hold, buy or sell any investment or security of any kind. Beanstox’s internet-based advisory services are designed to assist clients in achieving investment goals. They are not intended to provide comprehensive tax advice or financial planning with respect to every aspect of a client’s financial situation and do not incorporate specific investments that clients hold elsewhere. For more details, see our Form ADV Part 2A and Part 3 CRS and other disclosures.
All images and return figures shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not actual customer or model returns. Actual returns will vary greatly and depend on personal and market conditions. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S.
Our site uses cookies and other similar technologies so that we can remember you and understand how you and other visitors use our site. Please see Beanstox Privacy Policy for more information.
© 2025 Beanstox Inc.
Copyright © 2025 Beanstox. All Rights Reserved