Improve Your Credit Score
Posted on December 26, 2006
Credit scores are three digit numbers used by lenders when evaluating your creditworthiness. Insurers, employers and landlords also use the scores in evaluating the applications they get. More than 30 million American's have credit scores lower than 620 having a score lower than this makes it next to impossible to be get approved by lenders. Until recently people were in the dark about the process of credit scoring but now that people have access to the information, it's easier to improve your credit.
Here are a few tips on how to improve your credit score. First of all, if you already don't, make sure you are making payments on time, this makes up 35% of your total score. Missing one payment could take 50-100 points off your score. Take advantage of automatic bill pay that withdraws the money from your account on your due date.
You should also start paying off your debt and use your cards as little as possible, lenders like to see a gap between your amounts due and credit limit, the wider the better your credit score. Financial advisors used to tell people to get rid of their paid-off credit cards but now they are saying not to and that closing them in no way helps your credit, and can actually hurt it. Closing them lowers your total available credit and makes any balances you have seem larger. If you close older accounts, it can shorten the length of your reported credit history and make you seem worthy of their credit.
If you have a major problem find credit counselor. They negotiate interest rates and help pay off your bills within a few years, and contrary to belief it actually doesn't hurt your credit as bad as you might think. Take these suggestions to heart and locate others on the internet and through other resources, because the better your credit, the lower the interest rates you can score on mortgages, car loans and credit cards
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