By John Campbell

Unless you know what factors influence your credit score, trying to use your credit report to find out what may be lowering your score will be like trying to decipher code. It won’t make any sense to you.

The further your credit score is from the golden number of 750 or higher, the more you’ll want to know about what is really influencing your score.

The most significant thing that will impact your credit score is filing for bankruptcy. If you successfully file for bankruptcy you can count on your score dropping anywhere from 160 - 220 points. This will instantly drop your credit firmly into the subprime category and may result in you begin denied any new lines of credit altogether. A bankruptcy will be listed on your credit report for 7 - 10 years.

If you have any delinquent accounts, debts listed in collections, judgments against you or loans in default you can count on 70 - 120 points being deducted from your credit score. Any of these could easily put you into the subprime credit category, which could vastly increase the interest rates you’ll pay to acquire additional credit.

Any of the following will also negatively impact your credit score:

• Late or missed payments on any of your lines of credit

• Too many inquiries over a year period from lenders you’ve applied for credit with

• Too many accounts near or over the credit limit

• Discharged debts or charged-off accounts

• Too little of available credit in use (Lenders want to see that you can handle your debt)

If your credit score isn’t where you’d like it to be it will take longer to repair your score depending on how low your score has dropped. Knowing what factors will influence your score will help you find your problem areas so you can begin repairing whatever damage may have been done.

The more problems you take care of in regards to your credit will result in lower interest rates. You may be pleasantly surprised at how many potential lenders will drop out of the woodwork and offer you new lines of credit once your credit score rises to 750 or higher.

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John Campbell is the writer and editor of CashBuzz, A financial portal for the rest of us. Check out cashbuzz.com for the latest articles on money management and tips and tricks that can help improve your finances. This article may be reprinted on your Web site if the copyright, author information and active link are included.