How To Improve Your Credit Score Starting Today
Wednesday, August 23, 2017, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Have you ever thought about what it takes to improve your credit score?
A bad credit history can seriously damage your finances. Anything below 670 is not considered “good” anymore.
Being denied approval for a loan or difficulty finding a job are only a couple repercussions for having bad a history with finances.
Even if you’re not looking to apply for credit right now, not making an effort to improve your score could hurt your chances to prove your credibility in the future.
Many mistakenly believe credit scores can be repaired in no time. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
While the good news is credit history can definitely be improved, it’s important to be aware this typically takes few months, to say the least.
If there’s room to improve your score, starting as soon as possible is the smart thing to do.
Here are few ways you can improve your credit score starting today.
-
Review your credit reports to correct possible errors
Often times, credit report errors make for possible reasons why scores drop.
The good new is, you’re entitled to get your free copy of your credit report once a year.
Once you request yours from annualcreditreport.com, you can start looking for possible inaccurate data.
Missing information or mistakes can have a negative impact on your credit history. If you don’t check yours out on a regular basis, there’s no way for you to know what’s happening “behind the scenes”.
If your reports are error free – great! You know exactly where you stand.
If you find any mistakes, it’s time to start a dispute process.
You can do this either online, by phone or by regular mail. Alternatively, you can ask for help from a non profit consumer credit counselling agency.
Keep in mind that disputing credit errors takes time, so don’t worry if you don’t see any improvement right away.
-
Focus on paying off debt
If you have past due debts, it’s time to tackle them aggressively.
Payment history represents 35% of your credit score. That’s a high percentage that needs to be taken into consideration.
If you know you’re behind with payments, make sure to focus on paying them first.
The sooner you plan to pay past due debts, the better.
If your outstanding bills haven’t been sent to collections yet, you could try talking to your creditors and attempt to re-age your accounts. By doing so, you can avoid being seen as a late payer.
Of course, all debt payments should be taken care of. Even those already sent to collections.
Make sure you have a budget in place to help pay all your debts as soon as possible.
-
Set your payments on autopilot
If your financial situation allows it, set your recurring payments on autopilot today!
Although paying bills on time won’t directly affect your credit history, it significantly lowers the risk of another score drop in the future.
It may not be easy, focusing on paying both debt and incoming bills. However, if you’re looking to improve your credit score, making certain financial sacrifices is inevitable.
-
Lower your credit utilization
A well-known way to lower your credit utilization is to up your limit, but when looking to improve your credit score it’s best to avoid applying for new credit cards.
Instead, focus on paying off your balance each month and avoid putting new purchases on your credit cards.
Paying with cash or debit card is a great alternative to avoid using plastic.
Avoiding to make new purchases is an even better way to spend less and put the money towards debt payments. And the great news it, you can definitely start focusing on these healthy money habits right away.
Another aspect to consider is leaving your credit accounts open. Even after paying off your debt.
There are definitely times when you can safely cancel a credit card. If you still need to work on improving your score though, it’s best to leave them open for a while longer.
-
Ask for professional help
If improving your credit score turns out to be an overwhelming task, don’t hesitate to seek professional assistance.
As previously mentioned, credit counselling agencies are available to help.
When serious financial problems are too much to handle, you might need some professional guidance.
Just make sure you stay away from scams. Credit repair companies that promise quick results or ask for high fees upfront are best to avoid.
Having and maintaining a good credit score is important for a myriad reasons.
Improving your financial history takes time, but the effort is definitely worth it.
Throw us a like at Facebook.com/doable.finance
