“Improving Your FICO Scores”
Repairing bad credit or building credit for the first time takes patience and discipline. There is no quick way to fix a credit score. In fact, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire, so beware of any advice that claims to improve your credit score fast.
The best advice for rebuilding credit is to manage it responsibly over time. If you haven’t done that, then you’ll need to repair your credit history before you see your credit score improve. This is something you can do yourself, or you can hire a trusted professional like https://www.creditrepairnerds.co/ for assistance and advice.
Steps to improve your score:
***Check your credit report for errors***
Carefully review your credit report from all three credit reporting agencies for any incorrect information. Dispute inaccurate or missing information by contacting the credit reporting agency and your lender. Read more about disputing errors and https://www.creditrepairnerds.co/ for help on your credit report.
Remember: checking your own credit report or FICO Score has no impact on your credit score.
***Pay bills on time***
Making payments on time to your lenders and creditors is one of the biggest contributing factors to your credit scores—making up to 35% of a FICO Score calculation. Past problems like missed or late payments are not easily fixed.
Pay your bills on time: delinquent payments, even if only a few days late, and collections can have a significantly negative impact on your scores. Use payment reminders through your banks’ online portals if they offer the option. Consider enrolling in automatic payments through your credit card and loan providers to have payments automatically debited from your bank account even if you choose to set up the minimums, at least you won’t have a late pay.
If you have missed payments, get current and stay current: poor credit performance won’t haunt you forever. The longer you pay your bills on time after being late, the more your https://www.myfico.com/ Scores should increase. The impact of past credit problems on your FICO Scores fades as time passes and as recent good payment patterns show up on your credit report.
Be aware that paying off a collection account will not remove it from your credit report: it will stay on your report for seven years. In some cases, simply calling and paying will only re-age the debt, this is a strategic procedure and you could benefit from contacting a credit counselor for advice prior to paying them off.
If you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor: this won’t rebuild your credit score immediately, but if you can begin to manage your credit and pay on time, your score should increase over time. Seeking assistance from a credit counseling service will not hurt your FICO Scores.
***Reduce the amount of debt you owe***
Your credit utilization, or the balance of your debt to available credit, contributes 30% to a FICO Score’s calculation. It can be easier to clean up than payment history, but it requires financial discipline and understanding the tips below.
Keep balances low on credit cards and other revolving credit: high outstanding debt can negatively affect a credit score. Ideally you should use 20% or less of available credit.
Pay off debt rather than moving it around: the most effective way to improve your credit scores in this area is by paying down your revolving (credit card) debt. In fact, owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your scores. Come up with a payment plan that puts most of your payment budget towards the highest interest cards first, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts.
Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your scores. It may help you feel accomplished to ‘get it off your plate’ but it hurts your score
Don’t open several new credit cards; you don’t need to increase your available credit: this approach could backfire and actually lower your credit scores if done in a way that is perceived as risky.
“Start rebuilding your own credit now”! Simply go to our homepage and click “get started now” someone will contact you within 24 hours of pulling your reports. And remember these are consumer reports, so they will not show up as an inquiry on your reports.