How to Raise Your Credit Score in 3 to 6 Months
Find out your credit score., Note any significant recent changes to your credit score., Challenge any issues on your credit report., Pay your bills on time., Reduce your debt as much as possible.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Find out your credit score.
There are a number of good ways to learn your credit score quickly.
You can call a credit bureau directly, or use one of several free online services to get the number.
You can also sign up for a credit monitoring service, which will track your credit score for you, and let you know of any significant changes.
There are three main credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Each will calculate your score slightly differently, so you will want to get a number from all three.
Some banks and other credit issuing institutions will enroll you in a monitoring service as part of signing up.
Check with your bank or credit card company to see if that is the case.
Your score can range anywhere from 301 to
850.
Anything over 700 is a good score, while 750 and above is a very high score, and would put you in great shape for any loans or credit you may need.
A score below 600 is not good, and you will only qualify for loans at a very high interest rate, if you qualify at all. -
Step 2: Note any significant recent changes to your credit score.
Major changes could be recently filing for bankruptcy, foreclosing on a mortgage, or being the victim of identity theft.
Other, less obvious ways to do serious damage to your credit include maxing out several credit cards at once or skipping bills.
If you have had a significant change to your recent financial history, it can be much more difficult, if not impossible, to raise your credit quickly. , Make sure all credit cards, loans, bills, and mortgages belong to you, and that the balances indicated on each are correct.
If the reports have outdated or incorrect information, you should contact the reporting agency as soon as possible.Keep good debt on your reports.
If you have paid off a large debt, such as for a car or house, don't try to get that off your credit report quickly.
Paying off the large debt looks good to your creditors, so leave it there to demonstrate your trustworthiness.Sometimes incorrect information can arise from sharing a name with someone else, and sometimes it can be the result of attempted identity theft.
You will be able to work with the reporting agency to figure out what is the case.
Discrepancies or issues can arise at any time, so you should get into the habit of checking your credit report annually to keep track. , This is the best step you can take to improve your credit score.
Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, and paying late reflects negatively on you, suggesting you are untrustworthy.
You can work with your bank or the billing company to pay automatically from your bank account.
If you do use automatic payments, make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover the bills.
If not, you can easily cause more issues for yourself.
Consider paying your bills twice a month, rather than just once.
This can quickly erase large debts that build up suddenly due to unexpected expenses.
Otherwise, it can look like you are too willing to max out your credit., Make sure you are paying the minimum on all your debts, then use your available cash to pay some of them off completely.
Focus on smaller debts, which can be easier to manage.
This can allow you to work your way up to paying off the big ones.
You will need to pay more than the minimum for it to have any effect, so pay as much as you can as soon as possible. -
Step 3: Challenge any issues on your credit report.
-
Step 4: Pay your bills on time.
-
Step 5: Reduce your debt as much as possible.
Detailed Guide
There are a number of good ways to learn your credit score quickly.
You can call a credit bureau directly, or use one of several free online services to get the number.
You can also sign up for a credit monitoring service, which will track your credit score for you, and let you know of any significant changes.
There are three main credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Each will calculate your score slightly differently, so you will want to get a number from all three.
Some banks and other credit issuing institutions will enroll you in a monitoring service as part of signing up.
Check with your bank or credit card company to see if that is the case.
Your score can range anywhere from 301 to
850.
Anything over 700 is a good score, while 750 and above is a very high score, and would put you in great shape for any loans or credit you may need.
A score below 600 is not good, and you will only qualify for loans at a very high interest rate, if you qualify at all.
Major changes could be recently filing for bankruptcy, foreclosing on a mortgage, or being the victim of identity theft.
Other, less obvious ways to do serious damage to your credit include maxing out several credit cards at once or skipping bills.
If you have had a significant change to your recent financial history, it can be much more difficult, if not impossible, to raise your credit quickly. , Make sure all credit cards, loans, bills, and mortgages belong to you, and that the balances indicated on each are correct.
If the reports have outdated or incorrect information, you should contact the reporting agency as soon as possible.Keep good debt on your reports.
If you have paid off a large debt, such as for a car or house, don't try to get that off your credit report quickly.
Paying off the large debt looks good to your creditors, so leave it there to demonstrate your trustworthiness.Sometimes incorrect information can arise from sharing a name with someone else, and sometimes it can be the result of attempted identity theft.
You will be able to work with the reporting agency to figure out what is the case.
Discrepancies or issues can arise at any time, so you should get into the habit of checking your credit report annually to keep track. , This is the best step you can take to improve your credit score.
Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, and paying late reflects negatively on you, suggesting you are untrustworthy.
You can work with your bank or the billing company to pay automatically from your bank account.
If you do use automatic payments, make sure you have enough funds in your account to cover the bills.
If not, you can easily cause more issues for yourself.
Consider paying your bills twice a month, rather than just once.
This can quickly erase large debts that build up suddenly due to unexpected expenses.
Otherwise, it can look like you are too willing to max out your credit., Make sure you are paying the minimum on all your debts, then use your available cash to pay some of them off completely.
Focus on smaller debts, which can be easier to manage.
This can allow you to work your way up to paying off the big ones.
You will need to pay more than the minimum for it to have any effect, so pay as much as you can as soon as possible.
About the Author
Samuel Burns
Enthusiastic about teaching lifestyle techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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