It is not that simple. The Fair Isaac Corporation (creator of the FICO score) and the other credit scoring firms have proprietary formulas that weigh many factors to predict how risky it is for creditors to lend money to someone. With every debt you reduce, however, you will be moving in the right direction. The five general factors that count in creating a person's credit score are: past payment history (35%), total amount owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit applied for (10%), and variety of types of credit used (10%). Many of these factors are interdependent, however, making it difficult to predict exactly how much credit scores are affected as a person's financial situation changes.

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