“I often say that paying off your debt is like dieting. There are no miracle cures; it takes discipline and hard work.” – Lisa Madigan
Lending institutions judge your financial aptitude by your credit score. Getting approved for a loan isn’t always an easy task. But increasing your credit rating will give you the best chance. There are various ways that you could improve your credit score. Of course, among all of them, one of the best ways is to always pay your debts on time.
By paying off credit cards towards the end of every month can also help improve your credit scores, along with making those payments on time. Another thing you should also make sure of is that you don’t have large credit card balances because this could have a negative impact on your credit score. So, paying your balances in full every month, when possible, can be beneficial in more than one way.
What Does Your Credit Score Say About You
Another factor which can have a negative impact on your credit score is opening new credit card accounts. This lowers the average age of all your accounts. The credit agencies like to see a long history of established credit. The longer your history of having a good financial track record, the more trusted you will be with credit. So be mindful of how that may impact your credit score when opening any new accounts.
One of the first things that you should do is to get a free credit report from each one of the 3 major credit agencies Transunion, Equifax and Experian. Every year you’re entitled to get your copy for free and that’s one way you can manage your score. By keeping an eye on what is being reported about you, the better your chances of spotting any discrepancies and correcting them so you can keep your score in top shape!
“If you don’t take good care of your credit, then your credit won’t take good care of you.” ― Tyler Gregory
When it comes to guarding your credit, one of the most common ways is to check up on your credit reports. If you already didn’t know it, you are entitled to receive a copy of your credit report for free once a year. Once you’ve received your report you need to scan through it and see if there are any items which are inaccurate.
If you do find inaccurate items, then you have to dispute these items so that they can be removed. The credit agency is accountable for verifying anything that is reported. And they have basically a 30-day period to verify anything that you dispute. If they can’t verify it within this amount of time, they have to eliminate it from your credit report. And this will help to improve your credit score.
It’s also possible to ask the agency to send out corrected variations to anyone who has obtained a copy of your file in the 6 months leading up to the dispute. Keeping on top of your credit score is among the simplest ways that you could improve your likelihood of getting a loan. Even if you’re not looking to get a loan, keeping an eye on your credit reports and correcting any errors will keep your score at its best.
If possible, request your credit reports well before you apply for a loan to give you time to correct any inaccurate information. Remember when applying for a loan the very first thing they’ll look at is your credit rating. So making sure that you have a high one can be the most crucial thing for you.
“Are you willing to accept anything less than the credit you want, the credit you need and the credit you deserve?” ― Tyler Gregory
As children and young adults, our educational institutions gave you report cards and GPAs to measure how well you were managing your academics in school. Once you graduate and you’re no longer being measured by your academics. Your credit score is your report card in life! This now becomes the score you’re judged by regardless of your profession.
Even if you’re not planning on taking out any loans or borrowing money in any way, taking the steps to improve your credit score are great exercises in good money habits and good money management. A good credit score isn’t just about borrowing money. In order to have a good credit score you need to have good money habits and that’s the bottom line.
Keeping your loan balances paid off, making payments on time and reviewing your credit history on a regular basis for errors or signs of id theft are the best ways to ensure that you’ll have a high credit rating. Think of those things like they’re your homework assignments to help keep your grade point average up. Really, they’re just simple exercises in good money management that will go a long way for your financial future.
If those are things you’re not used to doing, then you need to make it a priority to work on developing those habits. Like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it gets. And the more motivated you’ll become as you start seeing results. Be consistent, be disciplined, be diligent and as you keep your financial house in order, watch your credit score improve!
Before you go, I want to invite you to join my FREE email list community. By signing up today, you’ll get notifications of my latest posts. Plus, access to my FREE Resources Library. Click Here to sign up!
Recommended Reading:
