How To Improve Your Credit Score

By John Cooper

Improving your credit score can seem like a daunting task. The credit bureaus claim to factor in hundreds of things and you have no direct control over your score.

This is wrong. You can focus on a couple easy steps and develop a good credit score.

1. Disputing and removing bad credit items on your report. You can do this yourself or hire a service but it will help your score the most.

2. Pay off any verified bad credit item on your report. In exchange for your payment have the lender remove the item from your credit report.

3. Pay your bills on time. It is alleged that missing one monthly payment can cause your score to drop by up to 50 points.

4. Open a new line of credit. You will get the most benefit if this is a revolving line of credit. We recommend an unsecured credit card.

By paying your monthly bill you will develop a positive payment history. This is a heavily weighted factor when your score is being calculated. If your score is currently to low to get an unsecured credit card then open a secured card just make sure it reports to all three bureaus.

In addition try to keep your monthly balance at 10% of your available credit. Doing this shows the bureaus that you do in fact use your credit and you use it responsibly.

5. Pay your large debts down. This is called your available credit to debt. The bureaus need to see that you are not in over you head and that you do have credit that is not being used.

These five factors are the only things you need to concern yourself with when trying to improve your credit score. There is one last factor however it is shadowed in controversy.

6. Piggyback credit, this is where you become an authorized user on a high credit limit credit card. The benefit is this account is now reported on your credit report and adding a tremendous boost.

This tactic was widely abused and the scoring model has made some changes. It is said to have removed the benefit however it is debated as to if those changes have taken place yet.

In sum if you can take care of steps one through five then you will improve your score. With a high credit score your quality of life will also improve.

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