Below are five tips to help you strengthen your credit and raise your score.
Review Your Annual Credit Report
Review your free annual credit report from the largest credit bureaus; Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you want to view your reports more than once a year, request a single free annual report every four months from each of the above bureaus. If you want all three of the reports more than once a year, you will have to pay money.
Build Credit with Secured Cards
Go to the bank and get a secured credit card. Many banks offer these for free. By depositing money into the bank as collateral, you can get a credit card and use it just like an unsecured card. The difference is that if you miss payments, the creditors can take the money directly out of your collateral account.
Use Credit Cards for Things You Will Buy Anyway
Get credit cards from the stores that you shop at for daily and weekly essentials. Grocery stores and gas stations are two great examples. You have to eat and most likely have to drive, so why not use credit cards to do it. This gives you a loan to pay on and as long as you make your payments on time, you will build up your credit.
Pay Off Debt
Make extra payments when possible to pay down your debt. If you have any accounts that are past due, negotiate with the creditors to drop your late fees, thus allowing you to make payments towards the principal of the loan.
Give Yourself a Loan
Go to the local bank and open a checking and savings account. Writing checks will help raise your score because FICO picks up the reordering of the check numbers (assuming you don’t bounce the checks). Use the savings account to give yourself a loan. You can take out a lone and use the savings account as collateral. This will allow you to make payments on a loan and raise your credit score.
About the Author:
By: Miles Thomas
Provided by Free Annual Credit Report and Scores
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