
Your 3-digit credit scores are the keys to your potential financial kingdom. Too often Americans go years without even looking into their credit reports. Only once they have been denied a loan or a credit line will they actually start to examine their reports. Needless to say this is usually too late to do them any good.
Check Your Reports Often
You can’t determine if there are derogatory or inaccurate accounts associated with your history if you never even bother to check. The three major bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – will allow you to pull one credit report from each every 12 months.
What many consumers don’t understand is that the burden of ensuring that they are accurate falls on you. The bureaus are not going to verify that the account information sent to them is valid; they’ll simply post it to their records. If you’re not vigilant, who knows what’s on your credit reports.
Verify Each Account
If an account is not being listed as 100% correct, you have every right to challenge it. Mistakes can completely distort your scores and cause you to be denied credit or unknowingly pay higher interest rates. It’s imperative that you keep detailed records of all of your finances over the past 7 years, or you may be forced to accept what creditors are reporting.
Pay Outstanding Debts
Unpaid debts can sink a credit score. They indicate to potential lenders that you are irresponsible with money that you borrow. Often, once an account has been sent to a collection agency they’ll be willing to negotiate a lower payment. As time passes a paid off debt will affect your credit profile less.
Use Credit Wisely
If you have credit, use it responsibly. If you don’t, get a credit card. Your credit score increases when you are able to demonstrate that you can borrow money and pay it back in full and on time. You want to keep your credit card balances as low as possible though, maxing out your credit cards indicates to lenders that you’re dependant on that borrowed money.
Keep Old, Unused Cards Open
A percentage of your credit score is based on the length of credit history. If you close older cards, even if they aren’t being used, it will cut down on the time that you’ve had open credit lines. It is also advisable to use them every so often so that the lender doesn’t close it for you, thinking that it’s inactive.
Save Money
Unforeseen situations are bound to happen. Whether this breaks you financially or not depends on whether you’ve “saved for a rainy day.” While many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, it is still possible for them to squirrel a little bit of money away if they budget properly.
Check Your Reports Again
It really can’t be stressed enough: continue to check your credit reports. You don’t want to put in all of this time and effort, only to be searching for how to fix your credit score again 6 months from now. If you are thorough and keep up with the changes to your reports, you will never have to deal with the humiliating feeling of having a credit or loan application denied.
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How do you fix your credit score?
I am trying to refinance my house while the rates are low. I was shocked when I found out how low my credit score was due to a delinquent account that is actually not delinquent. Besides disputing this, which could take up to 30 days, what else could I do to fix my credit score.
I pay my bills on time in full every month. Is it true that keeping a low balance on your credit card will raise your score?
Answer
You can use credit repair agency to fix your credit, for example this one – buildcredit.ifastnet.com








