Having poor credit can be a devastating occurrence in life. It can cause you to miss some great opportunities and take away some financial options. Yet, some simple steps can fix your credit and help you to keep your credit in good standing.
When you want to fix your credit, you need to start somewhere. Have a realistic plan and stay with it. You have to be committed to making real changes to your spending habits. If you don’t need something, don’t buy it. When considering a purchase, ask yourself if the purchase is necessary and affordable, if you answer yes to both, you should buy it.
Do not fall for the false claims many have about their ability to fix your credit. The claim that they can remove accurate debts from your credit report is false. It seems unfair, but accurate negative information will stick around for seven years. It is true, however, that you can remove inaccurate information from your report, but you do not need the assistance of a consultant to do so.
Credit improvement requires that you begin paying your bills. You need to pay your bills off on time; this is very important. Your credit rating can improve almost immediately when you pay off past due bills.
Credit Counselors
You need to carefully scrutinize credit counselors before you consult them for help with repairing your credit. The industry is rife with fraud and people with ulterior motives, so finding a legitimate credit counselor can be challenging. Some companies you may find are outright scams. It is smart to verify the legitimacy of credit counselors prior to getting involved with them.
Be very wary of programs that do not sound legal; chances are they aren’t. The web is full of scams that show you how you can craft a deceptive credit file. That is illegal and you are going to be caught. You could end up owing a great deal of money or even facing jail time.
Contact your creditors and see if you can get them to lower your overall credit limit. By doing this it will stabilize you in your financial boundaries instead of letting you extend beyond what you really should.
Credit Card
The first step in credit repair is to close all but one of your credit accounts as soon as possible. You can make arrangements to pay the balances, or transfer the balances of your closed credit card accounts to your single remaining credit card. This allows you to pay off one credit card bill rather than many smaller ones.
If you and a creditor agree on a payment plan, make sure the agreement is committed to paper. You want documentation to back yourself up so there will be no problems in the future, and if the company owner changes you will have more of a chance of keeping your plan. After you have paid the debt off completely, keep your receipt in case there are any discrepancies on your credit report.
Do everything you can to avoid bankruptcy. This negative mark will stay on your report for 10 years. It may sound like a good idea at the time to rid yourself of all your debt, but it will affect you later on. You may not qualify for auto financing or a credit card after filing for bankruptcy protection.
Pay off any balances as soon as you can. First, pay down your credit card balances, starting with the highest interest. It is your job to turn it around and prove your responsible with credit.
This will make sure that you maintain a good credit status. Every time you make a late payment, it is logged in your credit report which can hinder your ability to take out a loan.
Try not to use your cards at all. Pay for things with cash whenever possible. When you find credit card spending unavoidable, pay down your balance immediately.
When attempting to fix your credit score, exercise caution when it comes to attorneys and legal teams that advertise instant repair of credit. Due to the huge amount of people with credit problems, lawyers have emerged and offer to repair credit for a huge fee, and most of the “repair” is illegal or useless. Investigate a lawyer before hiring them to help you in repairing your credit.
A nasty credit crunch can generally be caused by lacking the funds to pay off multiple debts. Divide your money between your creditors so every one gets paid. Minimum payments will keep your debt accounts in good standing, and will keep them from ending up in collections.
Your credit rating will also suffer from opening new lines of credit. Resist the urge to apply for credit cards while shopping at your favorite retailer, even if they offer tempting promotions. This is important because every time new credit is obtained, your credit score suffers.
If a credit collection agency or credit card company threatens you in a way that goes beyond the law, make a note of it. You are protected by law, and you need to know that.
Having read these simple tips, the only thing left now is to apply them. Credit rating affects your life in many ways, so make sure to learn all you can about it.
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