How to Fix your Credit Score

July 4th, 2009 by Mike

Your credit score can be like an devil horns looming over your head. Or it can be a shiny gold halo praising you for your past. While many of us lean towards the devil horns it is not impossible to achieve a halo worthy credit score. Here are some ways to fix your credit score:

Set Up Automatic Payments

Even if it is just for the bare minimum setting up automatic payments will show effort and keep you from missing payments and putting anymore dings in your score. You can always set it up for the minimum (at least) and then pay additional on top of that each month if you have it.

Track It

Sometimes mistakes happen and that holds true to your credit. You need to track your credit report and keep your eyes on it. Sometimes something might get reported late when it isn’t, or you may have forgotten about an old card that is still open but sitting with no activity. These slight reflections and many more can often be fixed if caught early. Close your old accounts. If you have only one late payment CALL and ask that they grant you a courtesy extension. Negative things are supposed to vanish from your credit report after 7 years or 10 years for bankruptcy. Check and make sure they did in fact vanish. You can never go wrong by paying attention and tracking your credit report.

Don’t Apply for New Credit

Credit scores not only reflect credit cards and loans that you do have they also reflect what you have been trying to get. If you get panicky and apply for 10 different credit cards each one of these applications take a notch out of your credit score. Sometimes you might even get a decline reason due to “Too many inquiries.”

Keep your Balances Down

Using credit cards is not a bad thing. It is one of the best ways to build and improve credit, but you have to use it properly. Make sure you are not maxing your cards out monthly. Even if you pay them off monthly, don’t max them out. The best rule of thumb is to always always keep 30% of your available credit available. This reflects that your not using all you have and that your credit is good enough to stay away from the limit.

Credit is tricky and it can’t be changed overnight. You have to work and work at it to achieve a higher credit score, but in time your work will pay off. Your credit may be injured or broken, but it is never ever un-fixable.