Zach Raus is President of BHG’s Lending Division. An expert on financing for dentists and other licensed healthcare professionals, Raus oversees the lending team responsible for funding financial solutions for licensed healthcare practitioners and other highly-skilled professionals. Bankershealthcaregroup.com.

Zach Raus, Bankers Healthcare Group

	Your credit score is a powerful three-digit number. A good score can enable you to advance your career, start a dream business, reach personal goals, and make smart investments; a bad score, however, can hold you back in many ways.

	Your credit score can fluctuate monthly, depending on how you manage your bills and debts. Keeping your credit score intact will serve you well in the long run, so if you want to give yours a boost, here are five “Don’ts” to keep in mind.

	FICO Score Breakdown: Payment History = 35 percent

	The most important factor of a FICO score is payment history. If you’re guilty of missing a payment, it’s time to commit to making all of your payments on time every month. A late payment can signal you’re a risky borrower or someone who doesn’t respect what they owe to someone else. Don’t let payments slip by and hurt you; you can put your bills on autopay so you don’t even have to think about it.

	FICO Score Breakdown: Amounts Owed = 30 percent

	The more you owe, the more overextended you appear (even if you’re not), so strive to keep your cumulative balances under 50 percent of your actual credit limits. If you approach maxing out your cards, you don’t need to wait until the due date to make a payment. Chipping away at the overall amount owed throughout the month can be viewed favorably by credit bureaus (and help you maximize cash flow).

	FICO Score Breakdown: Length of Credit History = 15 percent

	The age of your credit history matters. If you have a card that you opened years ago but don’t use, don’t close it; swiping it even just once in a while can help keep it active and count toward the length of your credit history. As an added bonus, when you keep an old card active and use it only infrequently, your utilization ratio goes down, which can help boost your score. 

 Don’t Open Too Many New Accounts at Once

	FICO Score Breakdown: New Credit = 10 percent

	When applying for a new card or loan, your credit could take a hit if the lender makes a hard credit inquiry. If you’re shopping around for the best offer, be sure you know how the credit check might impact your score so you can limit the number of inquiries. 

	FICO Score Breakdown: Credit Mix = 10 percent

	Having a variety of cards and loans shows creditors that a borrower has experience managing and paying back different types of accounts.

	Your credit score matters. It can take as few as 30 days to see a score change, for better or for worse, so be mindful of how you manage your credit.

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Top 5 DON'Ts to boost your credit score

	Whether you’re a practice owner or dental associate, managing business debt on top of other responsibilities can only add to your stress. If you carry credit card balances or have outstanding business loans, having to deal with multiple balances, payments, and due dates can be time-consuming and costly. Here are five reasons why consolidation could be an easier way to manage your debt. 

	By reducing your monthly liabilities, you may end up with a lower cumulative monthly payment, which means more money stays with you. Having extra cash can help you stay focused on the big picture without worrying about delayed insurance reimbursements, co-pays and deductibles. It can also help you plan better for taxes or rising or unexpected operational costs. Calculate what your potential savings could be and set it aside for another purposes, like practice investments or taxes. With a debt consolidation loan, borrowers know exactly what they’re paying every month, which can enable better financial forecasting. 

	One of the benefits of consolidating your debt is the opportunity to potentially get a better-fixed-interest rate. Compared to having to pay multiple APRs, this can be an additional cost savings. If you’re carrying multiple smaller loans with high interest rates, consolidating your debt into a single loan with a lower interest rate can free up cash for more immediate needs at your practice. You can then take these savings to reinvest back into your practice or profession.

	With consolidation, you no longer have to track multiple due dates. This frees you from having to remember to make several different payments from multiple creditors. With a debt consolidation loan, borrowers only need to make one single payment per month to one account. Merging multiple debts into a single monthly payment also reduces the likelihood of missed payments. This simplicity can make your books easier to keep and help lower your stress.

	Consolidating your debt can potentially help you improve both your personal and business credit score by decreasing your revolving debt and helping you pay down all of your debts in a consistent manner. Credit utilization-the ratio of your balances versus the combined limit across all of your accounts-represents up to 30 percent of your credit score. The cumulative effect of debt consolidation is a lower utilization ratio that lenders prefer-and a potential boost to your score.  

	Multiple debts can mean multiple collateral assignments and restrictions assigned to the business. You can cut that down (and maybe even eliminate it) by consolidating your debt with one lender.  

	As a dental professional, you already have a lot on your mind-and your schedule. If you’re finding it challenging to juggle multiple payments, multiple due dates, and a lack of cash, then debt consolidation might be a good solution for you.