How to Get a Good Credit Score in Canada in 2022

Quick Links

1. What Counts as a Good Credit Score?
2. The Breakdown of a Credit Score
3. How to Fix Your Credit Score
4. Frequently Asked Questions About How to Get a Good Credit Score

This information can provide you with a wealth of knowledge to help you obtain more loans. Chances are that the rejections are piling up and you don’t want to pay those insanely high interest rates when they do finally say yes.

Skip this and know how to have better overall credit score health and financial freedom. Regardless of what is on your credit score, or if it was your fault or not; it is important that you take the necessary steps to have a better overall credit picture and standing.

What Counts as a Good Credit Score?

Having an idea of where the numbers lie and what they mean is going to help you boost your credit overall. It is going to be something that gives you a goal number to work towards. The scores that you will find throughout Canada are as follows:

• 300-574: This credit score is thought of to be poor and the worst score you could have. Generally, this score means you have serious financial troubles that are not being taken care of. They can include bankruptcy or foreclosure, or even very delinquent payments. 

• 575-659: This is a low credit score, but not a very poor one. It might be a history of late payments, defaults in the past, or anything else that are smaller issues. 

• 660-689: This credit score is thought to be fair. This might be small issues that happened in the past and are now currently growing with all of the changes being made. 

• 690-740: This credit range is good. This is a good score where creditors feel you’re trustworthy enough to lend a loan to you and provide you with a decent interest percentage amount.

• 741-900: This is rated an excellent rating and it is hard to find with those who might have financial difficulties or have had troubles in the past. You will, however, have access to almost any loans and the best interest rates you can find.

There are a number of ways to increase your credit depending on where your current score lies after knowing these numbers. 

The Breakdown of a Credit Score

Having an idea of how the credit score is broken down can provide you with more insight on what you need to do to fix it. Depending on your score, if you missed payments or had troubles in the past, you will likely be able to see them and know which parts of your credit score need to be fixed.

If you’re late or miss payments, this is going to cause you the most trouble for your credit score. It is important that you always are on time and do not default on the payments.

How much credit you decide to use is important because you need to keep it under a specific amount, generally 30% or less. You don’t want to hurt your score if you go over, so make sure to pay it off on time, or before the time.

Having no credit history can be bad, so having a credit history is good to have. You want to have something to work with or show to potential to a loan company.

Having loan companies look at your credit time and time again is going to bring your credit score down. You don’t want this to happen, so if you need to have your credit checked, have them check at the same time, and not across months, as it won’t cause further damage to your credit report this way.

Having a history with a diverse range of credit types always looks better on your credit then just having a couple of credit cards. You want to have car loans, mortgages, etc. to work with.

How to Fix Your Credit Score

Here are some quick ways to fix your credit score and increase the number. You might want to get a loan soon, so knowing how to do this is important.

• Look for any inaccuracies on your credit report
• Time all of your applications for credit, so they check at the same time

• Conquer your debt by paying it down as fast as you can
• Don’t close those cards that are paid off, instead use them every now and again

However you choose to increase your credit score depends on what is wrong with yours, but having poor credit is not a forever thing. You’re easily able to build your credit again with some quick tips and tricks to get you there.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Get a Good Credit Score

How fast will I be able to grow my credit?

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to fixing your credit, so you won’t see changes happening for months when you are paying down your debt and changing the way you do things for your financials.

Expect months for this or even years, depending on how poor your credit is to fix it but it can be done.

I’m only qualified for secured credit cards with lower limits, are they good?

Usually, you have to put a small amount down on this card to have it, but they can be worth it when your credit is less than perfect. You want to pay off this amount and then use the card minimally, while paying it off after every time you choose to use it.

Is there help out there to build my credit score?

There are many resources available for you to build your credit score and help from financial institutions who may want to provide further help. Credit unions are perfect for this type of help.