If you’re living with poor credit, there are a few things that you can do to improve your credit score. If you’ve been looking to improve your credit score, here are a few things you can do.
One of the most crucial things to do when it comes to building your credit is to pay your bills off on time. Even one late payment can lower your score and do damage to your overall credit history. It’s a good idea to set up automatic payments if you can. That way, you’ll never forget to pay your bills on time.
Review Your Credit Reports
You should make it a habit to check your credit reports once each year. When looking at your credit reports, see if you can find any misinformation or errors. In many cases, errors lead to people owing more than they should, as they can reduce credit scores. If you notice any errors or misinformation on your credit report, write a letter to the credit bureau to dispute it.
Keep Your Balances Low
One essential factor for improving your credit score is making sure you keep your balances low. If you owe too much money on revolving accounts, you will raise your credit utilization ratio. A poor credit utilization ratio can negatively impact your credit score overall.
The golden rule is to keep your credit utilization ratio below 30% by paying off your bills in full every month.
Avoid Having Hard Inquiries
Each time that you apply for a new loan or a new credit card, a hard inquiry will be put on your credit report. If you have too many hard inquiries on your credit report in a short period of time, it can reduce your credit score.
It’s a good idea to refrain from applying for loans or credit cards if you are planning on applying for a job, mortgage, or new apartment soon as well.
Keep Your Old Accounts Open
We’re not sure where the myth came from, but many people believe they should close their old accounts to boost their credit scores. This is simply not true. When you are in the process of building your credit score up, it’s a good idea to keep your old accounts open, even if the accounts are not in use.
Your credit history makes up 15% of your overall credit score, meaning it’s better to have older accounts on your report.
Final Thoughts – Improve Your Bad Credit Today
Beyond the methods listed above, you can also purchase authorized user tradelines to potentially boost your score.
Here at Boost Credit 101, we specialize in helping people like you raise their credit scores with high-quality tradelines. Make sure to reach out to us with any further questions.
Your finances are a big part of your life and can make or break certain situations. When you’re ready to take the next step in your tradeline journey, make sure to get in contact with us!
