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90 Day Blueprint to Improve your Credit Score from Make Startups Institute
9. Keep the Momentum: Monitoring & Habits That Protect Your Score
Automate Every Minimum Payment
Late payments are still the single biggest score killer. Automation removes human error.
- Set auto-pay for at least the statement minimum on every card and loan.
- If cash-flow swings are large, use a separate checking account dedicated to credit payments.
- Review auto-pay amounts once a year when minimums shift.
Live by the 30 Percent Utilization Rule
High balances tank a score even if you never pay late.
- Keep overall and per-card utilization below 30 percent.
- Aim for under 10 percent on any card you plan to use for balance transfers.
- Schedule a mid-cycle payment two-to-five days before the statement closes.
Run a Quarterly Credit Review
Checking reports does not hurt your score. Ignoring them can.
Quick checklist (do this every three months)
- Pull one personal bureau report via AnnualCreditReport.com on a rotating schedule.
- Log in to Nav or another alert service to confirm vendor lines are updating on business bureaus.
- Compare new inquiries, balances, and payment statuses against your tracker sheet.
- Dispute any errors within 30 days of discovery.
Add Fraud-Defense Basics
Identity theft or synthetic accounts can undo years of work overnight.
- Place a free fraud alert with the three consumer bureaus if you experience a breach.
- Turn on account alerts to ping your phone for transactions above a custom dollar limit.
- Review business bank and card activity weekly; fraudsters often test small charges first.
Review Credit Needs Before You Apply
Hard inquiries are harmless when spaced out, but clustered pulls can sting.
- Batch rate shopping for loans inside a single 30-day window.
- Delay elective card applications until after major financing closes.
- Re-run soft-pull pre-qualification tools every six months to gauge approval odds.
Common Habits That Backfire
| Habit | Why It Hurts |
|---|---|
| Closing old cards to “simplify” | Shortens average account age and shrinks available credit. |
| Ignoring small vendor invoices | One forgotten $30 bill can report as 30-day late. |
| Revolving large balances on reward cards | Points rarely offset the score hit from 50 percent utilization. |
Final Thought
Credit growth is a marathon, not a sprint. Automate every payment, keep utilization comfortably below 30 percent, and run a quarterly score check. These habits prevent back-sliding, flag fraud early, and position you to seize low-cost capital whenever opportunity knocks.
Your score is not a one-time trophy. It rises or falls every month as new data posts. The final module shows how to lock in the gains from your 90-day sprint and keep credit damage from sneaking up on you. Three core practices do most of the work: automatic payments, disciplined utilization under 30 percent, and a simple quarterly credit review ritual.
| Category | 90 Day Blueprint to Improve your Credit Score |
|---|---|
| Curriculum | all |
| Created | 2025-07-03 03:08:47 |
| Last Updated | 2025-07-03 03:08:47 |
| Published: | Make Startups Institute |
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