How can I raise my credit score?

Hi,

1. Get a copy of your credit report. Obtaining a copy of your credit report is a good idea because if there is something on your report that is incorrect, you will raise credit score once it is removed.

2. Pay Your Bills On Time. Your payment history makes up 35% of your total credit score. Your recent payment history will carry much more weight than what happened five years ago. Missing just one months payment on anything can knock 50 to 100 points off of your credit score.

3. Pay Down Your Debt. Your credit card issuer reports your outstanding balance once a month to the credit bureaus.

4. Don’t Close Old Accounts. In the past people were told to close old accounts they weren’t using. But with today’s current scoring methods that could actually hurt your credit score. Closing old or paid off credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have appear larger in credit score calculations.

5. Stay Out Of Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is the single worst thing that will destroy your credit score. Bankruptcy will lower your credit score by 200 points or more and is very difficult to come back from. Once your credit score falls below 620, any loan you get will be far more expensive. A bankruptcy on your credit record is reported for up to 10 years.

Good luck.