Seven Way To Improve Your Credit Score: 1. One of the best ways of boosting that score is paying down your balances. Having the ability to use a lot of credit is good, but you have to have low balances. 2. A good way to improve your score is to eliminate nuisance balances. So charging $50 on one card and $30 on another, instead of using the same card (preferably one with a good interest rate), can hurt your score. 3. Leave (good) old debt on your credit report. Debt that youve handled well and paid as agreed - is good for your credit. The longer your history of good debt is, the better it is for your score. 4. If youre shopping for a home, car or student loan, it pays to do your rate shopping within a short time span. Every time you apply for credit, it can cause a small dip in your score that lasts a year. Thats because if someone is making multiple applications for credit, it usually means he or she wants to use more credit. 5. If youre planning a big purchase (like a home or a car), you might be scrambling to assemble one big chunk of cash. While youre juggling bills, you dont want to start sending bills late. Even if youre sitting on a pile of savings, a drop in your score could scuttle that dream deal. 6. You just dont want to do anything that would indicate risk. Two of the biggies are missing payments & suddenly paying less (or charging more), than you normally do. Just take care of your bills responsibly. 7. Are you getting ready to make a big purchase, such as a home or car? At least a few months in advance, spring for a copy of your credit scores. While the score you can buy may not be the exact same one your lender uses, it will grade you on many of the same criteria and give you a good indication of how well youre managing your credit. If you are denied credit (or dont qualify for the lenders best rate), the lender has to show you the credit score it used, thanks to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Another smart move: Regularly keep up with your credit report. Youre entitled to one of each of your three credit bureau reports (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), for free every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport. Smart consumer tip: Stagger them. Send for one every four months, and you can monitor your credit for free.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 19:35:46 +0000
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