Your Mid-Year Credit Check: How is Your Score?

Whether it's time on the beach, a camping trip, or sitting by the pool, summer can be an incredibly fun season. But all that fun can often bring more spending. Now that we're officially in the summer months and halfway through the year, it may be a good time to review your spending habits and take a closer look at your credit score.

In this blog, we'll review what factors make up your credit score and how you can improve in each area. You'll also be able to find actionable tips you can take to work towards improving your credit score immediately and set yourself up for success in the future.

1. What is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a measurement, on a scale of 300 to 850, that measures the likelihood you represent to pay a borrower back for a loan. The number itself is an estimate based on your credit history, which includes several factors like on-time payments, your mix of credit types, and more. Several different companies provide credit scores and reports, with Equifax, Transunion, and Experian being amongst the most common.

Credit scores of 300-579 are generally considered poor, while scores between 580-669 are considered fair. Good credit scores typically come between 670-739, while very good and excellent credit scores are between 740-799 and 800-850, respectively. Lenders use your credit score (among other factors) when determining whether you’re a good candidate to approve for a variety of loans.

2. Factors That Make Up a Credit Score

There are five distinct elements that combine to make up your credit score. Let's take a closer look at each one and what they include.

Payment History

Your track record of making payments on-time is crucial information for a lender. If you’ll be borrowing money, the lender wants to know you’ll pay them back and do so on-time. Your payment history accounts for the highest percentage of your credit score at 35%.

Credit Utilization

The ratio of your current credit balances against your total credit line is your credit utilization. In other words, it’s a comparison of how much you’ve already borrowed against how much you’re eligible to borrow. Credit utilization makes up around 30% of your credit score.

You can calculate your own credit utilization by adding up all your current credit balances. Next, add up all your credit limits. You then divide your outstanding balances by your total credit limit and multiply that result by 100 to receive your utilization. It’s recommended to have a credit utilization percentage that’s below 30%.

Length of Credit History

A lender wants to know that you can handle credit over time. Your length of credit history includes the age of all your various credit accounts and makes up about 15% of your credit score.

Credit Mix

Your credit mix looks at the different types of credit lines you have open, whether it be a credit card(s), an auto loan, a mortgage, and so on. Given that your credit mix only accounts for roughly 10% of your credit score, don’t feel the need to just open several lines of credit for the purpose of diversifying. Be sure to only do so with intention.

New Credit Inquiries

Lastly, your credit score also includes any new credit inquiries that you’ve opened. Whenever you apply for a new credit card or loan, the lender puts in a request to review your credit, known as a credit inquiry. Any new credit inquiries make up around 10% of your credit score.

3. Assess Your Finances So Far in 2026

Now that we’re halfway through 2026, look at your own credit score. Have there been any major dips or surges in your score over the last six months? More importantly, are you unsure where any of these changes may have occurred? If this is the case, it may be time to take a closer look at your finances.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when looking at your credit score and your recent statements:

• Are there any charges that you don't recognize? Are there any recurring charges that appear on your card's statement month after month?
• What kind of categories (food, entertainment, gasoline, transportation, etc.) are you spending the most on each month?
• Am I only making the minimum payment for my credit card, or am I paying more each month?
• Have I had any recent hard credit inquiries?

• Is all the information accurate and up-to-date?

4. Short-Term Habits to Improve Your Credit Score

If you’re still not entirely satisfied with where your credit is but haven’t identified anything glaring in your report or statements, it may be time to implement some habits that can help improve your score. Here are some simple habits that you can easily follow to set yourself up for success:

• Make on-time payments (if you aren't already doing so)
• Pay more than the minimum balance if you can—even a few extra dollars can help
• Limit hard credit inquiries
• Only apply for credit when you need it
• Start reviewing your credit statements each month

• Keep old lines of credit open, even if you've paid off the balance

Don’t forget that you’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report once per year! It’s important to review your report and look for any errors. You can request your report from any of the three major credit reporting bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request your copy.