Ask The Money Coach

CreditCards.com has a nice article out on 9 Credit Score Myths That Do More Harm than Good.

Some of the myths they debunk include:

• Closing out old, inactive accounts will help your credit score
• Opening (but not using) accounts will help your credit score
• Paying off old debts and judgments will help your credit score
• Dispute letters can clean up your bad credit

Remember, each of the ideas listed above are misconceptions that don’t help your credit rating at all. In fact, when you act improperly based on these myths, they can actually hurt your FICO credit score.

I could add dozens more myths about credit scores. But here are three quick ones that come to mind:

MYTH: My age, race, gender, marital status, income or where I live can impact my credit score.
FACT: None of those factors are taken into consideration at all when your FICO credit score is determined. Under U.S. law, it is illegal to for credit scoring to take into account race, age, color, nationality, religion, sex and marital status.

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• Here’s How to Get Your FICO Credit Score Free (askthemoneycoach.com)
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• 5 Things You Need to Know About Credit Scores (wisebread.com)