Some people are spending hours on the phone every day, speaking to creditors and lawyers and even more lenders, all in an attempt to break free of those bad credit chains that bind us up and keep us from enjoying life. Bad credit can weigh on your shoulders until it’s taken care of, so let’s take the steps to repair that score once and for all.
To maintain or repair your credit it is absolutely vital that you pay off as much of your credit card bill as you can every month – ideally paying it in full. Debt carried on your credit card benefits no one except your card company. Carrying a high balance also threatens your credit and gives you harder payments to make.
There are many ways to repair your credit. Once you take out any kind of a loan, for instance, and you pay that back it has a positive affect on your credit score. There are also agencies that can help you fix your poor credit score by helping you report errors on your credit score.
A great tip for those of us looking to repair our credit, is to enroll in overdraft protection and insurance on our credit cards. This way our credit is always in good standing and we will not have to worry about exceeding the limits on your cards and incurring hefty fees.
Switch to a cash payment plan in regards to purchases and spending. If you are not using credit, you cannot impact your history and make it worse. By limiting your usage of credit accounts and making timely payments to creditors, your repair efforts will move forward. Using available credit negates these efforts and increases the time to recover.
Part of a successful credit repair effort is diligent record-keeping. All correspondence involving a credit dispute – both incoming and outgoing – should be saved for reference. Repairing a serious credit problem can be a very complex process. The debtor needs to be ready to refresh his or her memory on issues that may not have been discussed in several months.
Generally, it is not a good idea to wipe old accounts off your credit report. The reason is if you are applying for an auto loan or a mortgage, or another type of loan, you will need to show that you have had credit in the past, so the old accounts will come in handy. About 15% of your credit score reflects the length of your credit history.
Use your credit card to pay for everyday purchases but be sure to pay off the card in full at the end of the month. This will improve your credit score and make it easier for you to keep track of where your money is going each month but be careful not to overspend and pay it off each month.
Now that you know a thing or two about how to repair that bad credit score, it’s time to put the tips into action and get started on living a bad-credit-free life. Remember to take your time and to examine all the angles. Not every piece of advice you read related to credit will instantly work for you, but you need to keep plugging away at it until it’s resolved.