Struggling With Poor Credit? Here’s Some Help!

Having bad credit can prevent people from successfully taking out loans, leasing a car, or making other important financial decisions. If you don’t pay your bills and fees on time, your credit score will suffer. The tips listed here can help raise your less-than-desirable credit score.

Credit Card

You may be able to get a secured credit card even if your poor credit has prevented you from getting other credit cards. This card is very easy to get, because you put money into an account ahead of time and then spend from that, so the bank doesn’t have to worry about not getting their money. Using this card responsibly will improve your credit rating over time, and eventually you’ll be able to get a normal credit card again.

Pay down any credit cards with a balance in excess of 50%, preferably getting them down to 30%. If your credit card balances exceed 50% of their limits, it will lower your credit score, so spread your debt over multiple cards, or better, pay down the balances.

With a good credit score, you can easily buy a house and mortgage it. Making your mortgage payment on time each month will also boost your credit score. Owning your own home gives you a significant asset to use in securing your finances, and your credit score will reflect that asset. This will also be useful in the event that you end up needing to borrow funds.

Work closely with all of your creditors if you are aiming towards repairing your credit. This will assure them that you want to handle your debt and keep you from getting even further behind. Do not be afraid to call your credit card company and ask if you can make changes to your due date or your minimum payment amounts.

Make sure you research a credit counselor before you visit them. There are some legit counselors, and there are some that have ulterior motives. Some are simply fraudulent and are out to get your money. A wise consumer will find out if the credit counselors they deal with are legitimate or not.

You should examine any negative entries on your credit report thoroughly if you want to fix your credit problems. The debt itself may be legitimate, but if you find errors in its metadata (e.g. the date, amount, creditor name), you might be able to get the whole entry deleted.

Try joining a credit score if you’re still struggling to boost your credit rating by opening new lines of credit. You may find that the credit union has more options and better rates to offer you than banks will.

If you find any errors on your credit report, you should dispute them. Include proof along with a letter disputing the claim to the agency that recorded the errors. Your letter should be sent with a request for return receipt, so you can have a record that it was received by the reporting agency.

If you are living beyond your financial ability, stop now. This will require a change in your thinking. In the last decade, it has been way to easy for people to get credit. Many people have used this credit to buy items that they really could not afford at the time, and are now paying the price. Take a hard honest look at your budget, and figure out what you can honestly afford to spend.

Make sure you will get a plan in writing if you decide a payment plan is the best option for you with your creditor. Having the plan in writing will protect you if the creditor reneges on the plan or if your debt is transferred to another creditor. As soon as you get it paid off, have that in writing so you are able to inform the credit reporting agencies.

Do not file for bankruptcy. When you file for bankruptcy it shows for 10 years, your credit report will suffer from this. It sounds very appealing to clear out your debt but in the long run you’re just hurting yourself. Filing bankruptcy makes it difficult if not impossible to get anything involving credit, like credit cards and loans, in the future.

Credit Card Balances

The most obvious way to get your credit score improvement journey going is to pay down those pesky credit card balances. No matter what the balances are on your credit cards, pay down the highest interest rate cards first. Beginning to pay your credit card balances off will show creditors that you are making a valiant effort and are credit worthy.

Timely payments will keep your credit status in good standing. Late payments are added to credit reports and they can damage your chances of getting loans or a home in the future.

For a better credit rating, lower the balances on your revolving accounts. Having a lower balance will boost your credit score. The Fair Isaac Corporation, FICO system tracks how much of your available credit you are using in 20 percent increments.

Any person who needs a loan or line of credit to make home repairs, start a business or send their kids to college will need to have a good credit score. It is possible to fix your credit situation. This is true even when you are carrying debt.