Whether you are applying for a loan or trying to rent an apartment, your credit is important. In fact, your credit score can be the difference between you being accepted or not. If you try to fix bad credit, it is important to educate yourself. Regarding FICO scores go, a good credit score is anything above 660 and the best credit scores are between 760 and 850. On the other hand, a bad credit score is anything below 560. If you fall into this category, or just to increase the credit score you have as much as possible, here are 4 important steps you must take to correct a bad note:
1. Determine the cause of your low credit score.
Do not make your loan payments and / or time credit card is a surefire way to stay in the bad credit area. Make sure you keep track of your due dates and pay your balances every month. If you can not pay the entire balance each month, make sure you are constantly trying to pay above the minimum payment. Pay more than the minimum amount due can help your credit score, and also save you money on finance charges.
Make sure you keep your old open credit cards, even if you do not use them. Credit scores take into account your "credit utilization", which measures your credit limit compared to the balance on your credit cards. So if you pay the credit cards you use every month and keep credit cards you do not use open, it will show that even if you have a large amount of credit available for you to use, you are responsible with it. Keep old cards open is as good as a long history of using credit your credit score.
2. Start monitoring your reports and credit scores.
If you want to increase your bad credit score, it is important to stay on top of it. In addition to providing your complete reports 3 office and credit scores from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion so you can keep track of their progress, the high credit monitoring services, such as those discussed in our rankings credit monitoring alert you of any changes to your real-time credit. This is important because new information on your credit report can affect your credit score and your ability to obtain credit. According to the FTC, almost 52 million Americans have errors in their credit reports. These errors have a negative effect on your credit score, and in turn, you will pay higher interest rates.
Not only is the service monitoring credit report open your eyes to inaccuracies in your credit report, but they also protect you against identity theft by alerting you whenever your social security number and other personal information is used to open accounts. The main services even come with a free Internet safety, to go further to protect you against identity thieves. You can read full reviews, compare them side-by-side services and sign up for the free trial by visiting our credit report monitoring comparison page.
3. Correcting errors on your credit report.
As mentioned above, the errors on your credit report can have a negative effect on your credit score. Many errors are the product of the Office of error, but others may be more severe as identity theft, for example. Anyway, it is important to correct the mistakes and all you want to be on the road to a better credit score. Once you have signed up for credit monitoring report and identified an error on your credit report, take a look at this blog that goes through each step necessary to correct credit report errors.
4. Build a credit history. If you have no credit history, which is the cause that you have a bad credit score or not at all credit score, it's time to take advantage of the opportunities open to you credit . If you're a student looking to build credit, take a look at these college credit cards. Another option is to get a secured credit card. Unlike a regular credit card when you borrow money from lenders, you are required to put a deposit on a secured credit card and spend money like you would a regular credit card and repay each month. Some of these cards report your payment history to the three credit bureaus, which lets you build a credit history. In addition, if you are responsible with the card and make your payments on time, the company can provide you with an unsecured (regular) credit card. Take a look at these secured credit cards and find the one best for you.
Even if you do not plan on the request of any credit soon, it is important to get on top of it as quickly as possible. Not only does this protect against fraud useless, but you also never know when you w