How to Improve Your Credit Score by Focusing on Payment History and Reducing Credit Card Debt

One of the things that many consumers are obsessed with today is a better credit score. After all, your credit score influences more than whether or not you qualify for a mortgage, or whether you get the best interest rate on an auto loan. Your credit score can also impact the insurance premium you pay, or what happens when you sign up for cell phone service.

There are all sorts of “tricks” out there for improving your credit score, but really it just boils down to a couple of basics:

Manage yo...