How to Increase Your Credit Score By Paying Attention To Unauthorized Credit Card Charges

Sometimes the easiest way to increase your credit score is to pay attention to charges made on your credit card BEFORE they become a problem.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. First and foremost, you must keep track of what you purchase with your credit card. For me, I have found that the easiest way for me to do so is to keep a shoe box near my computer. When I get in from shopping, eating, or wherever else I might have used my credit card, I simply drop the receipts into the shoe box. That way I have all of my receipts in the same place when the time comes to review them.

2. Make it a habit to review your credit card statements on a weekly basis. Yes, I said a "weekly" basis. How, you may ask, are you suppose to review your charge history on a weekly basis when the statement only comes once a week? Glad you asked! If you are reading this article, then in all likelihood you have a computer. That is great. Now take full advantage of your investment! Sign up with your credit card company's website so that you can view your statements online. It is extremely easy and well worth your efforts.

3. Pick one day a week to invest ten or so minutes into protecting your credit score. The time I prefer is Sunday night because a majority of my spending occurs over the weekend. Additionally, it is nice to know that, going into the work week, there are no current problems with my account.

4. Log in and review your account. I usually print my statement and match up my receipts to the statement. I even go so far as to check off each charge for each receipt. If all of the charges are accurate, I simply staple the receipts to the statement and insert them into in a folder I created for my account. However, if there is a mistake or unauthorized charge, I have caught it extremely early in the process. I have been advised by my credit card company that the earlier you catch a mistake (or credit card fraud, as sometimes is the case), the easier it is to fix and properly credit your account.

5. Repeat for each credit card and debit card you own. Notice I said "own" and not "use". If you have an open account, you must check it weekly as well to make sure there are no unauthorized charges.

Tips & Warnings

• Did you know that some credit card companies have a deadline to challenge unauthorized charges? Call your company TODAY and find out what that deadline is!