Credit utilization is one of the biggest factors in your credit score, and paying down cards is one of the fastest ways to improve it.
What utilization means
It's the percentage of your available credit you're using — your balances divided by your total credit limits. Lower is better; many experts suggest keeping it under 30%, and under 10% is even better.
Why it matters
High utilization signals risk to lenders, which can lower your score. Because it updates monthly, paying down balances can improve your score relatively quickly.
How to lower it
Pay down balances (use the calculator to plan it), avoid maxing out cards, and keep old cards open to preserve total available credit.
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