How to Improve Your Credit Score

by Wendy Black Polisi on November 10, 2009

Have you ever wondered how to improve your credit score? Here some easy steps you can take to improve your credit score fast!

1. The first step to improve your credit score is to review your credit report. You can get your credit report for free once a year at http://www.annualcreditreport.com . If you are planning on a major purchase in the next year, it is a good idea to know where your credit score is so that you know how far you have to go. See your Credit Score for $0 at CreditReport.com. It’s Free and available in seconds.

2. Once you have your credit report, you should review it for errors. Any errors in your report, no matter how small, should be noted. In addition to reviewing your accounts, you should review your personal information as well. Pay special attention to derogatory information that you feel is questionable. Starting with errors that have the most impact on your credit score, you should dispute 2-3 items at a time.

3. While working on the dispute process, you should develop and stick to a budget that will allow you to pay down debts over time. This will require you to spend less, make more or do a combination of the two. Now is a great time to consider ways to make an additional income. Why not turn a hobby into a part time job or consider how you can make money online? Determine what will work best for you and stick to it if you really want to improve credit over the long run!

4. While paying down debts, be careful NOT to close any accounts. Doing so can dramatically lower your credit score. The reason for this is that a large part of your score is your overall revolving utilization. The more you have available, the lower your utilization will be at any given level of debt.

5. Get organized! Don’t get a ding on your credit due to missing a payment. On time payments are the single greatest factor in your credit score. If organization is an issue for you, consider opening a separate account that your bills can auto debit from.

6. If you ever know that you are going to have a hard time making a payment, contact the lender BEFORE the payment is due. Most of the time, they will be happy to work with you if you communicate with them. See if you can set up a payment plan to get you through your difficult time. Most of the time, as long as you make your payments as you have agreed inside the payment plan, your creditor will not report the payment late to the credit bureaus.

7. If you have had problems with credit in the past, it is critical that you establish good new credit. If you have trouble qualifying for unsecured credit you have several options. You can get a secured credit card or a CD loan with a bank. You can even get an after bankruptcy credit card. If your credit score in the short term is important to you, just be careful that you don’t open too many accounts too quickly. If you have a parent or spouse with good credit, you can also get them to add you onto an account as a co-signer.

8. Keep a good mix of accounts open. You want both revolving and installment credit for the best credit score.

If you are wondering how long does it take to improve your credit score, the answer is “It depends!” You can expect to see improvement within 60 days of implementing these tactics, but how quickly your score will improve is dependent on your individual credit file and how quickly you are able to pay debt off.

For more information on how to improve your credit scores, check out my free CD!

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