 TITLE: Using Credit to Bridge the Gap When You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck CONTENT: Why You Should Build Credit When Living Paycheck to Paycheck\n------------------------------------------------------------\nBuilding a high credit score takes time, and it's not something you can do overnight. If you get into a jam and need credit to hold you over between paychecks, a good credit score could mean the difference between securing a high interest rate or a low one.\nThe habits that contribute to a high credit score can also improve your overall financial life. The first and most important habit you can learn is to pay all your bills on time. Payment history is the most important factor in computing your credit score and is responsible for as much as 35% of your score. Demonstrating on-time payment history convinces lenders that you can be trusted to make payments.\nThe second most important factor in a credit score is your utilization ratio, which measures your credit card debt relative to your total credit limit. Lenders like to see a ratio of 30% or less, and anything more will start to ding your credit score.\nOther factors include the number of recent hard credit inquiries on your credit report, how long your credit accounts have been open and whether you have a mix of different credit types.\nCheck your credit score regularly to measure your progress. It can take several months to build a good score, but it takes much longer to rebuild a bad one. END