subject: Boosting Your Credit Rating Today [print this page] Boosting Your Credit Rating Today Boosting Your Credit Rating Today
Repairing damage done to your credit score can take years, but there are some things that you can do that can help improve your credit rating immediately. Here are 3 easy tips to help repair your bad credit score:
1. Check for errors. There could be many reasons for errors in your credit score such as identity theft or a debt you paid off that wasn't reported by the creditor. Make it a rule to check your credit report regularly.
Gail Cunningham of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling stresses the importance of monitoring your credit report because it ultimately affects your credit score, and finding any errors in the report can help you avoid a bad credit score
If you find an error in your credit report, you must submit written details of the error and include any applicable documents to your credit bureau. According to the Federal Trade Commission the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate your claim and determine its accuracy. In the event that you discover an error in your credit report and it gets removed, your credit score could increase by 50 to 100 points.
2. Make a payment. Lowering your balance can greatly improve your credit score because your score is calculated on your credit utilization ratio. What this basically means is the percentage of credit you use against your limit. If this number is higher than 30% it will impact negatively on your credit score. Do anything you can such as withdraw from a savings account or use money from a tax refund to make a payment on your balance to lower this ratio and give your credit score a boost.
3. Pay your debts on time. Now would be a good time to start automating your payments. Being late with payments negatively affects your credit score so to help you avoid this you can set your bills to be paid automatically. Electronic payments ensure you are never late on a payment again. You can set electronic payments to pay off mortgages, credit cards and other debts. Whatever you do, make sure you pay your debts within their specified time limits to avoid getting a bad credit score.
As you can see these are simple and easy steps you can start implementing today to improve your credit score immediately. Following these easy tips will keep you out of hot water where bad credit is concerned, so start repairing your credit score now!
