5 Ways To Raise Credit Score
Gary Gresham
It's not as hard as you think to raise credit score. It's a well known fact that lenders will give people with higher credit scores lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards. If your credit score falls under 620 just getting loans and credit cards with reasonable terms is difficult.
There are more than 30 million people in the United States that have credit scores under 620 and if you’re probably wondering what you can do to raise credit score for you.
Here are five simple tips that you can use to raise credit score.
1. Get A Copy Of Your Credit Report
Obtaining a copy of your credit report is a good idea because if there is something on your report that is incorrect, you will raise credit score once it is removed. Make sure you contact the bureau immediately to remove any incorrect information.
Your credit report should come from the three major bureaus: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. It's important to know that each service will give you a different credit score.
2. Pay Your Bills On Time
Your payment history makes up 35% of your total credit score. Your recent payment history will carry much more weight than what happened five years ago.
Missing just one months payment on anything can knock 50 to 100 points off of your credit score.
Paying your bills on time is a single best way to start rebuilding your credit rating and raise credit score for you.
3. Pay Down Your Debt
Your credit card issuer reports your outstanding balance once a month to the credit bureaus. It doesn't matter whether you pay off that balance a few days later or whether you carry it from month to month.
Most people don’t realize that credit bureaus don’t distinguish between those who carry a balance on their cards and those who don’t. So by charging less you can raise credit score even if you pay off your credit cards every month.
Lenders also like to see a lot of of room between the amount of debt on your credit cards and your total credit limits. So the more debt you pay off, the wider that gap and the better your credit score.
4. Don’t Close Old Accounts
In the past people were told to close old accounts they weren’t using. But with today's current scoring methods that could actually hurt your credit score.
Closing old or paid off credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have appear larger in credit score calculations. Closing your oldest accounts can actually shorten the length of your credit history and to a lender it makes you less credit worthy.
If you are trying to minimize identity theft and it's worth the peace of mind for you to close your old or paid off accounts, the good news is it will only lower you score a minimal amount. But just by keeping those old accounts open you can raise credit score for you.
5. Stay Out Of Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is the single worst thing that will destroy your credit score. Bankruptcy will lower your credit score by 200 points or more and is very difficult to come back from.
Once your credit score falls below 620, any loan you get will be far more expensive. A bankruptcy on your credit record is reported for up to 10 years.
The reality of a bankruptcy is it will limit you to high-interest lenders that will squeeze out high interest rate payments from you for years.
It is better to get credit counseling to help you with your bills and avoid bankruptcy at all costs. By getting credit counseling instead of declaring bankruptcy you can raise credit score over a much shorter period of time.
Copyright © 2005 Credit Repair Facts.com All Rights Reserved.
About the author: This article is supplied by http://www.credit-repair-facts.com where you will find credit information, debt elimination programs and informative articles that give you the knowledge to correct your own credit and credit report. For more credit related articles like these go to: http://www.credit-repair-facts.com/articles_1.html
The latest information and news on Credit Repair:
[CaRP] Can't open cache file.
[CaRP] Unable to create/open RSS cache file.
Credit Repair: Beyond the Fair Credit Reporting Act (Wellsville Daily Reporter)
(ARA) - Bad credit can happen to good people. On a day-to-day basis, you can't control all the factors that influence your credit score. What's more, credit reports often contain errors.
Free Credit Repair Secrets Teach Consumers How To Fix Ugly Credit (PR Web via...
Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) November 9, 2006 -- FixMyUglyCredit has launched a free credit repair e-course at www.
Avoid Home Repair Nightmares (The Motley Fool)
Americans spent more than $200 billion on home repair/remodel projects in 2005 and have shown few signs of slowing up in 2006, which means that there are a whole lot of very happy contractors out there, bank accounts bulging. But their happiness doesn't necessarily equate with the homeowner's.
Free Credit Repair Secrets Teach Consumers How To Fix Ugly Credit (PR Web)
From the comfort of home, people with damaged credit can fix their own credit with free step-by-step, easy-to-understand strategies and secrets from FixMyUglyCredit.com. (PRWeb Nov 9, 2006) Trackback URL: http://prweb.com/pingpr.php/WmV0YS1NYWduLVByb2YtUGlnZy1NYWduLVplcm8=
Bad Credit and Home Refinance (Kewanee Star Courier)
(ARA) - Mortgage rates are at historic lows, and it seems like everyone's jumping on the refinance bandwagon these days. But is it really a good idea for people with bad credit?
Avoid Home Repair Nightmares (The Motley Fool)
How to find the right person for the job.
Managing Your Credit Can be as Easy as Clicking a Mouse (Ridgecrest Daily Ind...
(ARA) - Managing your credit can be like balancing a plate in an old circus act - look away for just a moment and everything can come crashing down around you. But the task doesn't have to be that hard. In fact, online credit monitoring and management tools can make it as easy as clicking a mouse.
Police: Fake ?Uzi? taken into credit union (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
Two juveniles were taken into police custody Thursday morning after they were seen carrying what turned out to be a fake weapon into the Three Rivers Credit Union on Bluffton Road, police said.
Starting a PC Repair Business (Entrpreneur.com)
10 smart tips that will help you start and grow your computer repair service
The week in review (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
By now, you know the storyline from Tuesday's election: Democrats won big at the federal, state and county levels. Here's The Enquirer's take on some of the other election winners and losers.