Americans are taking action for better credit scores

More Americans are actively seeking to improve their credit scores to help achieve their financial goals including home ownership

Americans are taking action for better credit scores
More Americans are actively seeking to improve their credit scores to help achieve their financial goals including home ownership.

Chase Slate’s 2017 Credit Outlook reveals that 72% of survey respondents have taken steps to improve their credit score in the last year with 88% having checked their credit score including 52% doing so in the last 6 months.

“Americans are more ambitious and action-oriented toward their credit health,” said Mical Jeanlys, General Manager of the Chase Slate credit card. “They are not only expressing a desire to improve their credit scores, but also creating and carrying out specific strategies to achieve their goals.”

A third of consumers say they check their credit score every month.

More than half of respondents said they want to improve their credit score and 45% say they have a plan to do so.

Data from FICO shows that the average US consumer has a credit score of 700, 14 points above the level at the end of the financial crisis in 2009. Meanwhile the share of those with scores below 600 has fallen to 20% of the population, down from 25% in 2009.

“Credit plays a critical role in nearly all facets of one’s finances, but strong credit health isn’t achieved overnight,” says Farnoosh Torabi, a personal finance expert and Chase Slate Financial Education Ambassador.