Tips to Improve Your Credit

September 18, 2008 · Print This Article

It almost goes without saying that if you have debt, you have a less than stellar credit rating, and with more Americans in debt now than ever before, chances are likely that you or anybody you know can benefit greatly from just a few simple tips and advice on the ways in which a credit score can be improved. Even if you have a great credit score, it is still good to improve of refresh your understanding of the ways in which you can maintain a good score and keep building it into something exceptional.

First of all, the easiest thing to do is to eliminate any bad habits you may have at the moment. Even if you went back to try and fix all the errors and poor choices you made in the past that have contributed to a bad credit score, things won’t change if you don’t improve the way you manage your own money and bills. Make a list of all the expenses you incur on a monthly basis, and develop a sound strategy to pay them on time and in full from here on out.

While you’re at it, try and see if you can remove some of these items and reduce the list to only what is necessary. This will help you from damaging your credit score in the future and free up a lot of money that you may otherwise be spending recklessly. Once you’ve done this, you should start paying off any outstanding amounts that you owe. This should be much easier now that you have some extra capital to utilize. Even if it doesn’t seem to provide you anything in the short-term, the influence this will have on your credit score is easily the hugest change you can make to ensure that your score improves.

When you peruse your credit report, take the time and evaluate what shows up. If there is anything on the report that seems unusual, strange, or incorrect, write a letter to the Credit Rating Agency and ask that for the number of errors that you have found to be removed. The CRA will then have 30 days to investigate the issue, and they’ll write to the creditor and ask them to verify the payment information. If the creditor doesn’t respond or verify the information, the CRA will then remove the negative information in question from your profile.

Of course, even if you know you have some outstanding debt to pay, if they are older than 7 years, the law states that the negative information must be removed from your credit report. This is something else that you should be looking for. Keep in mind that if you missed a payment, let’s say, 10 years ago, and the creditor took several years to add it to your file, it may show up as a 6-year old debt or younger. If that case, you should also write to the CRA and explain to them carefully that the debt is at least 7 years old and that it should be removed from your report.

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Comments

35 Responses to “Tips to Improve Your Credit”

  1. Some Ways That Can Increase Your Credit Score on September 23rd, 2008 9:09 am

    [...] building your credit score takes time and patience, there are plenty of things you can do to reduce it or even ruin it [...]

  2. elgatokins shari on July 31st, 2010 12:38 pm

    credit reports shows “former names”

  3. kriziank on July 31st, 2010 6:26 pm

    China has already told us that in indirect terms.

  4. fatsukills caski on July 31st, 2010 11:01 pm

    You would contact each agency by mail. You send them a copy of the report to each corresponding agency with a letter disputing the information reported, for example, your Nordstrom account showed habitually late and went to a collections agency, you would name that creditor in your letter and tell them the debt has been paid and send the corresponding paid in full letter to them with your report and you will do this for each debt that has been paid in full. Most of the time collections agencies will do this in a matter of time better for you to follow up with a letter of your own so it gets done. When your report has been updated these debts will either appears as "settlement accepted on this account" or "account closed by credit grantor paid/zero balance." It may take between 3 and 6 months to accomplish but please do it in writting and not over the phone or the internet. There is still value in writting letters to folks when it comes to something as important as your credit. After all that is done, do not apply for any credit any where for at least 18 months (revolving credit-credit cards, retail accounts I mean) – you would be better off rebuilding your credit score by obtaining financing on a car (only if you need one – very easy to do, have a cosigner and a down payment of at least 3500.) Good luck.

  5. kimngayasu on August 2nd, 2010 11:23 am

    Improve Credit Rating By Erasing Bad Credit From Your Credit Report -

  6. walter on August 3rd, 2010 4:03 am

    Сredit repair workеd fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service – creditreport.imess.net

  7. mok olao on August 3rd, 2010 6:07 am

    Great content !

  8. jirino levenger on August 4th, 2010 5:45 am

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  9. grinaz chaus on August 5th, 2010 2:39 am

    credit-report-score.10001mb.com – try this site. I use it to monitor my credit and also cleaned off some bad items from my credit report. You can apply for free initial plan and get your scores and reports for free.

  10. brank on August 5th, 2010 3:10 am

    good UP’s man… thx for the video.

  11. chah goughamsin on August 5th, 2010 2:32 pm

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  12. maunwell on August 6th, 2010 6:23 pm

    Learn how to reduce you business's debt

  13. ann ley on August 8th, 2010 8:47 pm

    Unauthorized Personal Credit Report Check!?

  14. bointoborn zahana on August 9th, 2010 4:38 am

    You may not know it but the stock market history is quite extensive though the stock market has had several names. Some of the very first brokers originated in France as they were attempting to regulate the agricultural debt that occurred during the 12th century. However there was no central place or building for trading. The first formal trading house is thought to have originated in Bruges sometime during the 13th century.

  15. auter eau on August 12th, 2010 7:41 am

    Make on-time payment on your funiture finance would improve your credit profile and credit score, if the credit issuer reports this credit account to major credit bureaus. If the credit issuer is local, it should report.

    If the credit issuer is at Bancock but you reside in US, I don't think this credit activity would get reported to US credit bureaus.

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  16. aler on August 12th, 2010 7:49 pm

    I have seen collections from colleges on consumers credit reports. However, student loans show up with good and bad histories, while colleges seem to report only when delinquent. This is not true with all of them.

  17. kavale clafai on August 12th, 2010 8:21 pm

    just dispute everything on your credit file. no need to hire anyone to do it.

  18. sili parza on August 13th, 2010 10:34 am

    CreditFilter: What is the best way to improve credit, when facing bad credit that does not involve credit card debt? I have some credit issues. Namely, I have none. I have no substantial credit card debt (around $400 dollars, spread over 3 cards), just outstanding bills from my years as a stupid kid. I am a student, about to finish my second BA and start applying to law schools, and I am going to need to straighten out my credit. I DO have some student loan debt, but all of that is fine and current. I will soon be receiving my final financial aid disbursement, and I have some other funds coming in, so this is the best time possible for me to resolve all my old debt and work on building some good credit. I am not even certain what all I owe, because it is all piddly little amounts from around a decade ago. I doubt I have total debts over $2k, and I doubt any single debt is over $400-500. Most of the research I have done seems to point to resolving CC debt, and not so much little…

  19. yic on August 13th, 2010 4:49 pm

    Low credit score due to debt problems prevent many debtors to rearrange their finances and get a relief from the mountain of debt. Most debtors need fresh cash to cover their immediate payments and set them on the way to recovery.

  20. fairashigh on August 14th, 2010 12:21 pm

    This is my favorite credit repair – credit education video!!!!

  21. koch sookicheny on August 14th, 2010 8:29 pm

    I thought he said 60 Billion Double Dollars, and that someone had finally caught Vash. Then I checked, and he didn’t say that at all.

  22. miksson on August 16th, 2010 8:07 am

    You could always call them up & ask them.

  23. feardt on August 16th, 2010 1:29 pm

    Mark, there is an alert I placed on my accounts. My credit check is 100% okay (for now). :) The card likely has my name and phone #. Yipee!

  24. kaves arney on August 16th, 2010 1:55 pm

    CreditFilter: What is the best way to improve credit, when facing bad credit that does not involve credit card debt? I have some credit issues. Namely, I have none. I have no substantial credit card debt (around $400 dollars, spread over 3 cards), just outstanding bills from my years as a stupid kid. I am a student, about to finish my second BA and start applying to law schools, and I am going to need to straighten out my credit. I DO have some student loan debt, but all of that is fine and current. I will soon be receiving my final financial aid disbursement, and I have some other funds coming in, so this is the best time possible for me to resolve all my old debt and work on building some good credit. I am not even certain what all I owe, because it is all piddly little amounts from around a decade ago. I doubt I have total debts over $2k, and I doubt any single debt is over $400-500. Most of the research I have done seems to point to resolving CC debt, and not so much little…

  25. fli on August 18th, 2010 9:56 am

    Favorite FreeCreditReport commercial!

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  27. simon on August 20th, 2010 2:50 am

    The best way to do this is to get your annual free credit reports and find out who is reporting the bad debts.

    Do NOT pay for any service that offers you credit reports – you get them free once per year from the Bureaus directly. A lot of places scam you into buying monitoring services and offer you credit reports, don't fall for it. Visit the websites below and get your free reports.

    Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
    Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
    Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289

  28. purttimm on August 24th, 2010 9:48 pm

    A lot of people are living a debt free life despite the fact that the average American household has about $8000 consumer debt. Debt cannot be decreased or eliminated in just one day. Being free of debt can be accomplished in a few years, just as long as you provide yourself with a realistic plan.

  29. nijerisbet mchaple on August 26th, 2010 7:10 pm

    Ready to embark on the quest for an 800 credit score?

  30. rizon plaith on August 27th, 2010 11:43 pm

    the whole lot is Ponkers and a SCAMMMM

  31. gras leidenk on August 28th, 2010 10:13 pm

    Article by at 2010-08-29 01:02:34
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  33. nassonor bilbeichte on August 29th, 2010 11:44 pm

    first

  34. betscheng yire on August 31st, 2010 1:37 pm

    Сredit repair workеd fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service – buildcredit.ifastnet.com

  35. trudi on September 2nd, 2010 3:45 pm

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