How to Maintain a Credit Rating

Your credit rating is an essential part of you financial life. When you properly maintain your credit score, you have excellent opportunities to get the best loan rates and to improve your net worth. This score also affects your ability to get a job as many employers check credit prior to hiring. Maintaining your credit rating ensures that you can move up the ladder or even land a better job in the future.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Pay your bills on time and in full. A late payment adversely effects your credit, while paying on time can increase your rating.

2. Refuse new credit card offers from local chain stores. You want to limit your credit card use for emergencies. Overextending your credit by taking every credit card offered to you can hurt your score and your ability to pay the monthly bills on time.

3. Apply only for credit offers you want because too many credit pulls affects your rating. If you're looking for a credit card, car loan or mortgage, only allow the companies you're serious about to pull your credit. If you're just starting to look and they ask for your information, be sure to clearly tell them you don't want them to pull your credit until you're sure this is the route you're going to take.

4. Shred unwanted credit solicitations and old financial documents. You can damage your credit rating if somebody steals your identity. People who want to steal your identity can easily access information you throw away in your garbage. Shredding this personal information helps prevent that--and keeps you score where it should be.

5. Check your credit rating every six months to make sure there are no surprises. Look into any discrepancies and notify the credit bureaus immediately.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How strong is your score?  Did you know checking your own credit won’t affect your score? Click here to see yours in two easy steps from Experian.