In an effort to clean your cluttered finances, you close three zero balance credit card accounts. Lightening your wallet feels good now, but the potential hit to your FICO Score could weigh you down later.

The JCPenney® Rewards Credit Card, operated by GE Money Bank, is a rewards card for J.C. Penney® customers. Cardholder benefits may include special discounts and exclusive savings, sneak peeks of sales and events, JCP Rewards program, monthly rewards certificates, and the opportunity to earn Gold/Platinum Rewards Credit card status.

A good FICO score is one that exceeds 700. Any amount above that number is generally sufficient to qualify for the lowest available rates on most types of loans, but it is not a one way ticket to being able to take out extraordinarily large loans-your income will have a more significant effect on that.

Credit reporting bureaus continually update credit reports as they receive information from lenders. Your credit score may change with these updates as lenders add new information to your credit report but also as old information drops off your report. How updates affect your credit score can depend on your overall credit history.

If you have bad (a 500 credit score to 580 credit score) to poor (a 581 credit score to 639 credit score) credit but want to increase your FICO Score by 150 points then read on to find out how to boost your credit score in the next 6 months.