Five Steps I can take now to Improve My Credit Score

What can I do to improve my credit score? Here are the top five things you need to know before being turned down for a credit card or having to pay more for a mortgage or car loan.

1. Pay bills on time. Keep track of all bill due dates, and pay your bills ahead of time so that you’re never late. Set up your calendar (such as on Outlook) to remind you to pay your bills ten days ahead of the due date. Set up subsequent reminders in one or two day increments to pester you into paying the bill ahead of time. Better yet, if you have set up online billpay through your bank or use software such as Quicken, set it up to pay bills automatically ten days ahead of time so that you know you will never be late. Even one late payment can negatively affect your credit score.

2. Minimize the amount of credit you have outstanding at any time, as a percentage of the total credit available to you. It is sometimes advisable to open another charge account to increase the amount of available credit (but be sure to space any requests for credit over an extended period of time as multiple requests over a short period of time will lower your credit ranking).

3. Minimize the number of inquiries on your credit report. Multiple “hard” inquiries (such as when you apply for a charge card or loan) will negatively affect your personal credit score. Note that “soft” inquiries, such as when you check your credit score, will have zero effect on your credit ranking. Avoid the temptation to sign up for those offers to “save 10% on today’s purchase when you apply for a new store card”. If you’re going to apply for more than one credit card, stagger your applications over a period of time so that it will not appear to the credit score companies that you have a sudden need for money – and therefore may be a greater risk.

4. Try to maintain an assortment of available credit sources. A mix of different types of credit – such as an installment card, a mortgage and a car loan — is better for your score than maintaining only one type of credit — such as having only credit cards. It is not always easy to establish multiple forms of credit, but those consumers who maintain a varied mixture of credit sources tend to have higher score ratings than those with only one type of credit.

5. Stay on top of your credit. Try to get your credit report and score on a frequent basis, including through sites that provide a free online credit score. These offers usually come with a trial offer for an identity monitoring service. Closely monitoring your credit score will alert you to fluctuations in your credit profile that might indicate incorrect information on your credit report or possible identity theft.

Following these five steps will help to improve my credit score, so that I can have access to the most desirable credit products and the very best rates.

Five Steps I can take now to Improve My Credit Score

For more on how I can improve My Credit Score, go to mycreditscores.net.

Many consumers are pleased with the Triple Credit Score or 3 Bureau Credit Score issued by FreeScore360, which provides all 3 Credit Reports and Scores issued by the three Credit Bureau Reporting Services – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Here is a link to their site:
View Your Credit Scores From TransUnion, Equifax And Experian In Seconds!.