How to Raise Your Credit Score

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By chasingthebull
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (7 Ratings)

Times are extremely tough. Gas prices have skyrocketed. The price of food is outrageous and credit is getting harder and harder to obtain at reasonable rates. If you have bad credit, getting a loan can become even more difficult. There are, however, a few easy ways you can raise your credit score.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

computer
hard work and effort

Step 1

Pay Every Bill On Time - This may sound obvious but it is extremely important that you pay your bills on time. Paying your bills slowly does not help you raise your credit score. You must pay them on time, every time.
Step 2

Pay Down High Balance Cards First - Points are deducted from your credit score when you have balances that exceed 50% of the limit for that card. Pay these high balance cards first to free up available credit.
Step 3

Do Not Cancel Unused Cards - As pointed out in step #2, your credit score is graded based on the percentage of available credit that you have versus that amount of credit that you have used. Cut unused cards up but do not cancel them unless they have an annual fee.
Step 4

Monitor Your Credit Score - Make sure that you constantly check your credit score. You should be able to see positive changes within 6 months. You can get a free report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus once a year. After 3 months, get your free report from Equifax. After 6 months, get your free report from Transunion. After 9 months, get your final free report from Experian. This ensures that you never have to go more than 6 months without receiving a free report.

Comments

bdcblogs said

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on 2/15/2009 Good advice. Thanks for posting!

freeser67 said

on 12/16/2008 Wonderful tips...I was able to increase my credit score significantly within 12 months by removing my credit cards from my wallet and setting up automatic payments for most of my bills. I used myfico.com to monitor my score on a regular basis.

ReuseItAll said

on 10/13/2008 Great tips!!

cyclegirl98 said

on 10/7/2008 Nice tips for raising your credit score. I'm with you on #3 - it's ok to cut up the card but don't cancel. Your debt to credit ratio will be blown!