Credit Repair: 8 Easy Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

There are several ways to increase credit score quickly. An improved credit history will help you repair bad credit and offer you more credibility with lenders.

A credit score is a number that helps lenders assess your credibility, whether you will be able to repay a loan. The score is built based on the credit history and ranges from 300 to 850. A credit score of 700 and more is usually considered as good.

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A high credit score rating is desirable, as lenders use this number while deciding to approve a loan or a credit card. You stand better chances of approval with a higher score. A higher score will also help you get better interest rates on loans, as it shows that you are not a credit risk.

The number is determined based on certain factors and percentages and your score keeps changing constantly.

If the score is low, there are some ways to fix it.  You cannot change your credit history, but with time the negative information can be eliminated and replaced with positive ones.

Here are Some Top Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

If you are asking how long does it take to improve credit score, it doesn’t happen overnight. Raising credit score overnight is not possible. It’s not a race car where you just rev the engine and get cracking.

1. Credit Utilization

What makes your credit score go up? Credit Utilization is a major factor affecting your credit score. It is the sum of all balances divided by the full credit limit.

For instance, if the credit available to you is $20,000 and your balance is $8000, your credit utilization is 40%. A credit utilization of 30% or lower is considered optimum, with a 0% not recommended.  If your credit utilization ratio or percentage is more than 40%:

• Check out the balances on a weekly basis, as it is the best way to pay off debt and raise credit score.
• Create balance alerts, as it is the fastest way to fix credit scores.
• Make multiple payments each month. Even payment of full balances could still leave you with a high utilization ration. The strategy to use here is to make multiple payments throughout the month, instead of a single payment.
• Spend evenly on different accounts while learning how to raise your credit score fast.
• If there are balances in several credit cards, consolidate them into one single personal loan, to improve your credit score.

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2. Eliminating Balances to Improve Credit Score

• Try to eliminate small balances on all your credit cards. Gather all cards where there are small balances and pay it off, to move from bad credit to good credit.
• One of the criteria for calculating your credit card score is to check out the number of cards that have balances. For instance, if you charge $50 on one of your credit cards, and $30 on another card, it could negatively impact your credit score. This is because now there are balances in both the cards. Eliminate this problem by charging both the amounts on one card, so that there is no balance on one of the cards.
• If you are not able to pay off the balance amounts in several cards, try opting for a balance transfer card, as it allows you to consolidate all debt into one lower rate card.

3. Allow Old Debt to Remain on the Report

Once you’ve paid that home loan or that car loan, you are frantically on the phone to get the amount of debt removed from your credit report. Right? No, Wrong. Don’t do it. If I want to fix my credit fast:

• It’s good to have old debt on your reports.
• You have already paid the debt and it shows that you have handled the debt well. It will boost your credit score and is one of the ways to fix bad credit.
• It offers a long history of good debt, so it improves your credit score.
• Leave the old debt on your report for as long as possible. Anyway, it will probably disappear after seven years.

4. Extending Credit Limit

• Ask your issuer to give you an increase in the credit limit for the existing card. This is like getting a new card.
• It results in lowering the percentage of credit used to how much you can actually use. (Take care that you don’t overspend to repair bad credit fast)
• Select a card with a good and long history to fix bad credit fast.

5. Setting Up Automatic Payments to Improve Credit Score

• If you make a late payment, it could reduce your credit card score.
• Set up an automatic payment on loans that you pay in installments, or those that have the same charge every month to help in improving credit score immediately.
• Create a calendar reminder for payment for improving your credit scores.
• A strong history showing regular and timely bill payments will prove to a potential lender that you are reliable.
• If you cannot set up automatic payments, use a calendar or your mobile phone to organize tasks. Set reminders or alerts.

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6. Using Your Card

• It is recommended that you make use of your credit card often. Don’t spend more than you have and make payments in time, at the same time.
• There are other advantages to this strategy, as it gets you rewards and also helps improve credit score.
• Be moderate. If you overuse your card, it could hurt the score, so use it responsibly.

7. Checking Out Errors

There are statistics showing that 80% of credit reports have some error, which resulted in fall in the credit score.

• Request for the free copy of the credit report.
• All the three main bureaus will provide you with a free copy.
• Check out your credit report and see if there are any errors in reporting, especially those regarding a default or a delayed payment or even about a loan that you never took.
• Verify the basic information and the amount information and dispute the error if any by reporting it immediately.
• Get it cleaned for mistakes, as part of steps to increase credit score in 30 days.
• The effect on the score will be seen within one month.

8. Get Secured Credit Card

• If your score is poor, you can ask banks to offer you secured credit card, made against your fixed deposit. The credit limit will be lower in this case.
• In case of a delayed payment, the bank is able to get the money from your deposit.
• You are able to pay the dues in time and this helps you improve the credit scores over a period of time.

Over to You

We cannot exactly assess the extent to which your credit score can be raised using these tips. Each credit history is a different story with several variables. However, that said, you can soon see a shift towards the higher number as far as your credit scores are concerned.

How long does it take to rebuild credit?  Be patient and stay committed. Once you see the positive effects, you will get greater motivation to achieve a higher credit score.