The American public has an average credit score that is falling lower and lower. This means that more Americans will have problems getting loans for cars and mortgages, or applying for new credit cards.

FICO Inc. has released statistics that reveal that one-fourth of the 170 million Americans with active credit have scores that are lower than 599 on the 300 to 850 scale. For a person looking to purchase a home or car, this could prevent them from doing so until their scores become higher. Although there are ways to raise scores, none of them are quick fixes. In fact, it will probably take a similar amount of time to raise a FICO score as it took to get into debt. However, the best way to raise a credit score is to make sure that bills are paid on time, keep credit card balances low, and to apply for new credit accounts sparingly. James Watson, a financial services adviser, encourages people to do as much as they can to get themselves off to a good start.

“It’s very important that young people starting out not get over-extended on debts and that they pay bills on time. It’s got to start from the time you get out of college and get to work because it’s hard to correct five years later.”