The results of a poor credit score are traumatic to deal with. Decisions you’ve made in the past can have frustrating financial repercussions. It may take some time, but your credit can be repaired. Read on to find out how.
Planning is the first step to repairing your credit. You need to make a commitment to changing your spending habits. Only buy what you absolutely need. See if each purchase is necessary and affordable and only purchase something if the answers are “yes”.
If you are unable to get a new card because of your bad credit, try to apply for secured cards. This card will be more than likely be granted to you, however you must fund the account ahead of your purchases as a sort of “insurance” to the bank that your debts will be paid. A responsibly used new credit card will begin healing your credit score.
Pay down any credit cards with a balance in excess of 50%, preferably getting them down to 30%. When balances are over 50%, your credit rating goes down significantly, so try to either spread out your debt or, ideally, pay off your credit cards.
Credit Score
For a credit score boost, an installment account will help. All installment accounts must stay above the set monthly minimum, so only open one if you can afford it. You will improve your credit score by properly managing an installment account.
You must pay your bills consistently if you want to repair your credit. Pay these bills on time, and make sure you pay the full amounts owed. When you pay off past due lines of credit your credit score will go up.
Credit Counselor
Always do research before contracting a credit counselor. While some counselors are legitimate, offering genuinely helpful services, others have ulterior motives. Also be aware that there are other credit counseling services run by dishonest people. These services are scams and should be avoided at any cost. Smart consumers make sure that a credit counselor is legit before starting to exchange any money or sensitive information.
Before you agree to enter a debt settlement, learn about what happens to your credit as a result of it. There are methods that are going to be less damaging than another, and all should be researched before you enter an agreement with a creditor. Creditors just want their money and really aren’t interested on how it will affect your score.
Take a look at your credit report if you have a bad score. You could find mistakes in dates and other factors which can cause the whole item to be removed from the report.
Take the time to ensure each month’s credit card bill is correct. If you spot any mistakes, contact the credit company right away to keep them from reporting the mistakes.
Payment Plan
If a creditor agrees to give you a payment plan, get that payment plan in writing. This will give you important documentation in case of an ownership change or if the creditor tries to back out of the agreement. Upon completion of payment, make sure to get the receipt in writing and send it to the credit reporting agencies.
Try not to file bankruptcy if at all possible. It is noted on someone’s credit report for 10 years. This may appear to be a wonderful idea where you rid yourself from all this debt at once, but in actuality it causes more harm than good. Filing for bankruptcy will make it very difficult for you to qualify for credit in the future.
If you need to repair your credit score, you should pay your credit card balances as fast as possible. Work on paying off credit cards that have the highest interest rates or high balances. By doing this, you will show your creditors that you are trustworthy with your credit.
Doing this will ensure a good credit score. Late payments are reported to all credit report companies and will greatly decrease your chances of being eligible for a loan.
Comb through all of the bills that you get! You will need to read over every charge on your account to check that it is accurate. It is solely your responsibility to be sure that everything is correct.
Lower the debt on revolving credit accounts, like store and credit cards, first. Reducing the amount of debt you’re carrying is one of the best ways to improve your credit score. FICO will base your score on what percent of your available balance is in use, so keep that in mind.
Apply these tips to fix your credit quickly. Most importantly, you want to have a consistent plan and stick to your commitments. Fixing a credit problem is far from impossible, and the faster you get to it, the better your results will be.