Want to Improve your Credit Score?

Here’s some helpful hints . . .

1. Pay on Time

Be sure to pay at least the minimum on all forms of debt and bills ON TIME. Late payments are reported to the credit bureaus and are reflected in your score. You should try and pay more than the minimum on your debts (or even better, the full balance) to try and pay down debt – but as long as the minimum is paid the creditors will be happy.

2. Watch Your Debt-to-Credit Limit

You should try and keep the balances on your debt – particularly revolving credit (credit cards and lines of credit) – to below 50% of your available credit limits. The less you use, the better it looks on your report.

3. Don’t Over-apply for Credit

Every application you make for credit – at the bank or for a store credit card – is reported on your credit report. The more you apply for credit the more you make creditors nervous that you’ll rack up all this debt and not be able to pay for it.

However, if you think you may be turned down by some institutions, keep your applications to a 2-week application window. That way it just looks like your trying to get a good deal on your interest rate. If your applications are denied do NOT apply for more credit until at least 6 months go by.

One important myth: checking your own credit report or score does NOT lower your score, it has no effect on your report at all.

Its important to check your credit report and score at least once a year to make sure you can get the credit you need when you need it.

Tags: credit, credit report, money, save money

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Women & Finances. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.