3 Ways To Improve Your Credit Score
When you have good credit, you will pay less for some expenses in life such as loan interest and car insurance. If you have bad credit, you need to learn what you can do to make your credit better. Here are three ways to help improve your credit score.
Pay Your Loan Payments On Time
It may seem like no big deal to pay your bills late once in a while, but one of the biggest factors in determining your credit score is your past payment history. Every month you make a late payment, your creditor will report it to the credit bureaus. Over time these late payments add up on your credit file, lowering your credit score.
If you are having trouble covering your payments on their due dates because of your payday dates, your creditors may work with you on this. Many banks and credit cards can change your due date to another time during the month so it aligns better with your paydays.
If you are struggling remembering to pay your payments, many banks offer online banking that will let you set up a recurring monthly payment. Your credit card payments can get paid automatically, even if you forget about it.
According to FICO, when you make one 30-day late payment, it can lower your credit score from 60 to 110 points. As your credit score falls lower, banks will charge you higher interest on loans and credit, which will cost you more.
File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a relief from most of your debt (except such debts as taxes, student loans, alimony, and child support) and is a decision that you should not take lightly. But, if your expenses greatly outweigh your income, you should talk to a chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney to see if you qualify to file.
You should not file bankruptcy only to increase your credit score. But, if you are considering bankruptcy for your situation, it will greatly help your credit. If you are considering bankruptcy, your credit score may already be low because you are paying late and falling into collections.
A person can only file chapter 7 bankruptcy every eight years. So, once you have filed, banks will want to gain your business because they know you are a good credit risk to pay them back. This will allow you to start over with your credit to get new loans and a couple credit cards to build your credit score back up.
Over time you will be making your payments on time and increasing your credit score.
Pay Off Credit Card Debt
A lot of people get too many credit cards and loans and can't pay any of them off. The problem is that they are only making the minimum payment on each loan, hardly reducing the principle on each loan. So, to pay off your debt you need to combine your monetary efforts to pay off one at a time. During this payoff plan you will still be paying the minimum payment on all the rest of your loans.
First, choose a loan that has the smallest payment. Add all your extra income each month to pay on that loan to help reduce the loan's principle. To have some extra money you may need to skip eating out once a week, or make coffee at home instead of buying it at the coffee shop.
Once this first loan is paid off, take that extra money and apply it to the next smallest loan until that one is paid off. Continue this until all your loans are paid off. Because each maxed-out credit card you have decreases your credit score anywhere from 10 to 45 points, according to FICO, paying them off will help your credit score to increase.
By following these three suggestions, you can increase your credit score.