It's amazing how credit scores impact areas of our lives. Our credit scores can make the difference in whether or not we qualify to purchase a home, our interest rate when we buy a new car and even the cost of car insurance.
If your credit isn't where you'd like it to be, there are ways to improve your score.
1. Pull your credit report. Print it out so you can review it carefully. Is all the information correct including name, social security number, prior address, etc? Go through the accounts. Are there any areas that show late payments or collections? Look at the inquiries and where they came from. If there are any areas that are inaccurate, dispute the errors.
Equifax
www.equifax.com
800-685-1111Experian
http://www.experian.com/
888-397-3742Trans Union
http://www.transunion.com/
800-888-42132. Pay your bills on time. This is where online bill pay services come in handy. If you have difficulty remembering when bills are due, set payments up on the online service at your bank. In many cases, it's a free service. If this system does not work for you, set up a monthly calendar that is located in a visible place and pay attention to due dates. Whether we receive a statement or not, we are required to pay our bills on time to maintain and improve our credit scores.
3. Pay down your debt. Don't transfer debt around, work to pay down each account to 30% or less of the credit limit. Your score is based on having lower balances in comparison to your credit limit. Make a dent in your debt.
4. Don't close credit card accounts. The older the account, the more it will add to your credit score. Now is not the time to open new accounts. They may count against you. We don't need to use the older cards, just keep the accounts open. The limits on those accounts will apply to our total available limit and that may show a lower debt ratio.
5. Apply for credit sparingly. If you already have a number of credit cards, you may not need another. If, however, you need to purchase a car, you will have to apply for credit. Don't open a lot of accounts within a short period of time. We should keep the old and refuse the new whenever possible.
Even if you are not ready to make one of the large purchases in life, now is the time to improve your credit score. In the long run, it will make your life easier and cost a lot less money.
If you'd like more information on how to improve your credit, attend our free home buyer seminar, Claiming Your Space, on April 25, 2007.
I also encourage you to check out the book, Your Credit Score written by Liz Pulliam Weston. It is a wonderful book packed with solid information on how to build and repair your credit.
Comments(0)