No matter what point you’re at in life, it’s a necessity to have good credit. It’s especially vital if you’re thinking of buying a home, but there are many other reasons as well. Some employers even look up your credit score before they will extend you an offer of employment. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be complicated to obtain and keep a good score, but it does require a little attention and discipline.
5 Easy Tips To Improve Your Credit Score
- Monitor your credit score regularly with a free program/app
- Open a credit card and pay it off monthly
- Pay all of your bills on time
- Don’t apply for multiple lines of credit in a short time frame
- Watch for discrepancies on your credit report
There are several legitimate sites that let you monitor your credit scores from at least two reporting agencies (sometimes one). These are helpful because you can see if you’re making progress and any changes that happen. It can be motivating to see your score go up and also a wake up call if your score goes down.
Open a major credit card and pay it off monthly. If you can’t pay it off, try to pay more than what the minimum payment is. Otherwise, you’ll get stuck paying mostly interest. Treat a credit card like you would cash – if you don’t have the money, don’t buy it unless it is an emergency.
Whatever you do, make sure you pay your bills on time. Late and missed payments are the number one killer of credit and can take months, if not years, to recover.
Apply for the credit you need at careful and strategic times. If you apply for multiple types of credit at once, other lenders will see this and wonder why you suddenly need so much money. It will make them doubtful on your ability to repay it (and so many inquiries will drop your score).
Mistakes and discrepancies happen on credit reports more often than you think (such as a credit company saying you were late with a payment when you were not.) If this happens, you can dispute it, and odds of you winning are generally in your favor. Make sure to handle these errors promptly.
Are You thinking of buying a Home in Tampa Bay?
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In the meantime, check out these 1 click searches: