Have you been putting off improving your credit score because you think it’s “way too complicated"? If so, then keep on reading, because this article can help solve that issue.
A good credit score can not only open the door to the best rewards credit cards in the industry, but also give you affordable rates on home mortgages, auto loans and so much more.
It’s time for you to learn 5 of the best ways to improve your credit score; so simple even a monkey can follow these instructions!
Enough waiting - let’s get to it.
1) Check Your Credit Report for Accuracy
Before you make any decisions, you should check to see if your credit reports are accurate. Out of the three credit reports issued to you by TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, there might be a chance that one of them contains a mistake!
These mistakes can be hurting your credit score, so it’s in your best interest to carefully look through your reports to fix any pesky errors.
If there are any mistakes, then it’s time for you to talk with each company about it.
Tedious? Yes, but getting rid of these little mishaps can help clean up your report.
2) Use Some Credit!
You must use credit to improve your score. Doing this ensures that you’re able to provide up-do-date information concerning your spending habits, as well as showing you are responsible with completing your payments.
It's also important to keep your credit use in check. One important rule is not to use credit that you're not able to pay off at the end of the month. Not following this rule will result in unhealthy spending habits and high credit utilization, which will have the opposite effect on your credit score (higher utilization rates will lower your credit score).
Use a credit card, but make sure not to go over your spending budget. Only purchase what you can pay off.
3) Make Sure to Pay on Time
This is probably the simplest way to improve your credit score, but it’s ignored by so many people.
Just make sure to pay your assigned fees by the due date. Even if it's just a minimum payment, paying your credit card on time every month is important and as much as 30% of your entire credit score is based on your payment history.
And if you didn’t do it, well-
The next best time is right now.
4) Build Up a Good History
After you’ve shown you can make your payments on time, keep on doing it repeatedly.
Your “credit resume” will look a lot more attractive if you have a lengthy history that shows you pay on time.
You can ask a close friend or family member to vouch for you, but that can be a struggle. How? Ask them to be a cosigner on your next credit card or loan application, but that could carry a lot of risk for the cosigner, so don't get your hopes up.
It’s best to just make minimum payments you’re 100% confident in paying off, and slowly build up your history.
5) Track Your Credit Report Progress
If you’ve followed the previous 4 steps, then this last one is like icing on the cake.
It’s time to track your credit report to see if your credit score is improving after all the effort you’ve put in. You can do this by paying for a monitoring service that marks down whenever your credit score changes. You can even team up with credit bureaus themselvees, like Experian, to monitor your credit score for a monthly fee.
They start around $10 per month, so it’s a very cheap investment to stay on top of your credit game. Not only that, but you’re able to see if any type of fraud occurs on your account, so it even protects you against theft!
Conclusion:
Above all else, the most important factors in improving your credit score are consistency and dedication.
There aren’t any overnight secrets that will instantly boost your credit score.
But if you follow these tips laid out in the article, and play for the long game, you’ll steadily improve your credit score over time.