Improve Your Credit Now With These 12 Tips
Presented by Honey B Wackx
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Is your credit score or FICO in the dumps or heading that way? If so, you do need to pick it up. Do it now, you never know when your poor rating will hurt you. Are you buying a home? Applying for a job? Don’t worry; your credit rating can be improved rather quickly if you know what you are doing. There are a few steps you can take to boost your credit score fast and improve your credit.
#1 Pay off your credit card balance. If this is at all possible, this is the first, last and best way to boost your score.
#2 Pay any overdue balances. Your credit payment history makes up more than a third of your credit score. If you’re overdue on any accounts this can have a significant impact on your credit score.
#3 Stop using your credit card. The more debt you have, the worse your score. And if you’ve maxed out your credit, then your score can plummet fast. Part of your FICO is determined by how much debt you have in proportion to how much credit you have. If you have $15000 in credit and you’ve used $14700, your ratio is pretty poor. Not using your credit card will at least slow down your FICO’s decline.
#4 If you don’t have a credit card or your debt to credit ratio is low get another credit card to adjust the ratio. This can result in a boost in your credit score but tread lightly here. If you incur more debt, your score will go down. The idea is to keep your score as high as possible.
#5 Get a copy of your credit report. You’re entitled to a free one from each of the three reporting agencies each year. Check your report over carefully. If there are any mistakes, make sure to follow up with the creditor and your reporting agency to get the mistakes removed from your report. One small mistake can have a drastic impact on your score.
#6 If you have too many credit cards cancel some of the cards. That reduces your risk to creditors. You don’t want it to appear as if you have too much credit. Creditors don’t like that.
#7 Keep accounts with balances open. Closing the account may feel like a good idea, but it may be better just to cut up the credit card. Make sure closing the account won’t have a negative impact on your credit score. If by closing the account you significantly affect your debt to credit ratio, it’s better to keep it open.
#8 Seek credit counseling help. Counselors can make calls on your behalf to lower your payments, negotiate better interest rates and help you improve your score quickly. Try to find non-profit corporations with good ratings to help improve your credit. Be careful of scams or high payments to correct your credit when using credit counseling.
#9 Use your credit cards wisely. Generally, you can increase your credit score by limiting your charges to 30% or less of a card’s limit. For example, if you have a $5000 limit then don’t charge more than $1600.
#10 Verify your credit card limits. When you review your credit report, make sure the limits on your cards are accurately reflected. If not, call your creditor and have them update your information.
#11 Use your old credit cards. The longer you have a credit history, the better your score. If you’re going to use a credit card, use your oldest one.
#12 Try to negotiate lower rates and a payment plan. Alternatively you can request a credit limit increase if you’re looking to adjust your debt to credit ratio. You have power as a consumer. Use it to help yourself.
Boosting your credit score even a few points can mean the difference between getting approved for a mortgage or car loan. It can, and often will affect the interest rate you’re charged on loans and other credit cards. Plus your credit score can impact your ability on getting a job or renting an apartment.
Take a few steps now to boost your credit score – it makes a difference. That difference could mean thousands of dollars saved if you need to get a loan on any high priced item or home. Even lower priced items paid off over time will be helped if the interest you pay is reduced. Your higher FICO score can translate to lower interest rates and more money in your pocket.
Honey B is having good luck using her knowledge about gemstones.
