Boost Your Credit Score!

Hi Money Masters!

 

If you hadn’t heard, the other day was National “Get Smart About Credit” Day, which prompted me to decide to write about how to increase your credit score. It can be done! It is possible to go from poor to fair, fair to good, good to excellent, and even poor to excellent!

 

The average credit score in the United States is currently 695, which falls into the “good” category. Great job, America! If you do not know what your score is you can find it through one of 3 major credit bureaus. (Note: there is a small fee to access your credit score, however, your credit report is available to you free, once a year, at each bureau.)

 

Credit Bureaus

Experian – Equifax- TransUnion

 

When you look at your credit report, it is a chance to review the information regarding your accounts as well as personal information for accuracy. You can even dispute discrepancies, too. This brings me to my first method of boosting your score…

 

Fix errors right away!

 

Reviewing the details of your report often (if you stagger the free annual reports from all the bureaus you can check quarterly through the year) will result in catching mistakes early before they do a lot of damage. What kind of information could be false?

• Personal info such as name or address

• Late payments on an account

• Negative information that should have already been deleted

 

Pay bills on time! This is very important since payment history is 35% of the FICO score.

 

 

Pay balances down! Make it a priority to pay down balances on credit cards and other debts you owe as quickly as you can. Your credit utilization ratio (your total credit card balances divided by your total credit card limits) is 30% of your score.

 

 

No new cards! Whereas different types of credit can positively affect your score when maintained correctly, try not to open many new accounts. Keeping your old accounts open increases the length of your credit history.

 

 

For the majority of Americans, there’s room for improvement on your credit score. Why not go from good to excellent?! Take the time every couple months to review your report and follow the tips above. You’ll be happy you did!

 

Blessings to you always,

-Helen