Your credit score is used in more ways than one could imagine. Thinking of purchasing a home? Your interest rate will depend upon what your score is. Would you like a credit card? If your credit is not good, you may have a high-interest rate, or you may not even qualify for a card. If this is the case, you may want to consider credit repair.
Here we have supplied you with the best techniques to increase your credit score. To be certain your score is as high as it can be, you should obtain your free report once a year. This way, if credit repair is needed, you can be on top of it.
- If you see any errors on your credit report, dispute them. Once you have disputed it, the credit bureau agency has 30 days to look into it. Once the agency deems it is inaccurate, your credit report will be updated within 30 days.
- Paying bills on time is essential if you want to do credit repair. A total of 35% of your credit report comes from your history of paying bills on time. Making one payment late can account for up to a 180-point drop in your credit score.
- Do not open new lines of credit—the amount of time you have credit accounts open matters, and the longer, the better. New accounts opened can lower your credit score. If you must open a new line of credit, make payments on time, and only open one at a time.
- Keep your credit utilization ratio low. Say you have $10,000 in available credit and a balance of $3,000. Your credit utilization ratio would then be 30%. Your credit utilization ratio accounts for 30% of your credit score, so the lower it is, the better. You should aim to keep it at 30% or less. Even if you are only one percent over this, it can affect your credit score adversely.
- Ask for a credit increase. While this may seem counterintuitive, it can help keep your credit utilization ratio lower. If you have spent $2,000 out of your $5,000 credit limit, your credit utilization score would be 40%. However, if you asked for a higher limit of $8,000, your credit utilization ratio would only be 25%. This will decrease your overall credit score.
- Work on paying off balances. Not only will this keep your credit utilization ratio down, but it will lower your balance due and the amount of interest you are paying. On average, a person spends $855 each year on interest fees.
- Become an authorized user on another account. This is a great way to do credit repair as long as the account is paid on time. Many parents will do this with their teens to build up their credit scores.
If your credit score is less than stellar, or you need assistance with credit repair, contact a professional, such as Super Credit Repair, in Clearwater, FL. They can help you increase your score fast and answer any questions you may have pertaining to how to make your credit better.
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