can paying off debt lower credit score
Here are five ways to reduce your debt and improve your credit score. This is one of the fastest ways to improve your credit score, at least a little bit. Past due balances weigh heavily on your credit score. By paying them off, you can jumpstart your credit score quickly. While paying off very small past-due balances may not have much of a positive effect, paying off a larger balance, or several smaller ones, can jump your score by 20 or 30 points.