Check Your Credit Report
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to request a free copy of your report. Tale a moment to analyze and make sure all of the information is accurate and up-to-date. Your credit report contains the data used to calculate your credit score and it may contain errors. In particular, check to make sure that there are no late payments incorrectly listed for any of your accounts and that the amounts owed for each of your open accounts is correct. If you find errors on any of your reports, dispute them with the credit bureau.
Pay Your Bills on Time.
Making your credit payments on time is one of the biggest contributing factors to your credit scores. Some banks offer payment reminders through their online banking portals that can send you an email or text message reminding you when a payment is due, set this up if you can. One missed payment can drastically impact your credit score. You could also consider enrolling in automatic payments through your credit card and loan providers to have payments automatically debited from your bank account.
Reduce Your Debt
I know this is not easy, but reducing the amount that you owe is going to help improve your credit score. The first thing you need to do is reduce your usage of your credit cards. Come up with a payment plan that puts most of your available budget for debt payments towards the highest interest cards first, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts. Pay more than the minimum amount, if you can. Whatever you do, DO NOT close the account as doing so can reduce your credit score.
Get a Secured Credit Card
Getting a secured credit card is a great way to establish credit. To obtain this type of card, you deposit a specified amount of money into a financial institution who will then issue you a bank credit card. The amount you deposit is your credit limit. After you maintain that account in good standing for a while, you may be able to obtain a regular credit card or loan.
Thank you for taking the time to read these tips; I hope they have helped you.
