The Makeup

FICO credit scores are composed of five different categories. Each category has a level of importance or weight for the total credit score. The makeup of a credit score is as follows:

• History of Payments: 35%
• Outstanding Debt: 30%
• Extent of Credit History: 15%
• Recent Credit: 10%
• Variety of Credit: 10%

Not Set in Stone

The FICO scoring method offers some room for variation. This means that although your payment history should make up 35% of your credit score puzzle, FICO calculations may increase or reduce this percentage in the overall picture. For this reason, it is wise to work on all five categories. However, it is probably a good idea to focus on the highest weighted categories first since they hold more leverage in the overall formula.

Moving Forward

Credit repair will look at the five credit score categories for you. Continue reading to learn some ways credit repair can help you for these categories.