If you are like many of Americans that are struggling with debt, you may be wondering how you can repair you credit score. Many people ask ‘How can I fix my credit score fast?’
These questions are pretty common, and it is because if you have debt and you want to secure a loan, your credit score may be holding you back. With a bad credit score, you are going to have hard time finding a lender that will approve you for a loan. If you’d like, you can skip over to read more about how you can secure a loan with bad credit, or no credit at all.
But here, we want to shed some light on how you can improve your credit score as quickly as possible. Some things on your credit report will only improve over time, but, there are steps you can follow to make sure you are on the right path to increasing your credit score ASAP.
This checklist below is a MUST read if you are looking to get a better credit score.
5 Steps to Better Credit Score
1. Request to increase your credit limits
Step one to increasing your credit score is to request an increase on your lines of credit. It is pretty easy to do this. Some lenders or credit card companies have a request link online in your account, which makes it pretty easy to request a credit increase. Others, you may need to find the customer service phone number, have your account number ready, and give them a call. Make sure your up-to-date on your payments if you plan to make this request. Chances are very slim that you will be able to increase your credit limit if you are behind on payments. If you are successful in increasing your credit limit, you have taken a great step to improving your credit score since your credit score takes into consideration the amount of your total credit you utilize. So, with an increase in your credit limit, you may see a boost in your credit score pretty quickly.
2. Ask for Forgiveness
You may have reached a point where you had no choice but to miss a payment. If this has happened to you, you can send a letter to the lender or credit card company explaining your situation and asking them to remove the delinquency from your credit report. You may want to explain other positive factors like being a loyal customer for a certain amount of time and that you are working to improve your financial situation, and to ask for an adjustment for the one late payment. If you are severely delinquent, with several payments missed, this step may not be an option for you. If you have only missed one payment, it comes at no harm to send a ‘goodwill adjustment letter’ to your lender or credit card company.
3. Double down on your credit card payments
If you have the resources to do so, another great way to increase your score is to pay down your credit card debt faster. The goal is to get your credit card utilization rate under 30%, since that is the rate that credit card experts recommend and is looked at as favorable by credit reporting agencies. You can look at your available credit to total credit limit ratio to determine what balance you need to have in order to be under 30% utilization. If you can do it, go for it! Your credit score will thank you.
4. Transfer balances to low or no interest rate credit card offers
Whether you have on credit card with a high interest rate, or multiple cards, looking for a new card with a low or no interest rate intro offer may bring some relief to your current financial situation, and help you pay down your credit faster. By transferring your credit card balances to a new card with low or no interest, you will be saving plenty of money on interest you would have been paying on your old card, and, it may be just the boost you need to get ahead and pay down that credit card debt faster. The ability to do this will give you a leg up in repairing your credit and increasing your credit score fast.
5. Fix errors in your credit report
One key factor in reviewing your credit should involve scanning your report for errors. If there are errors in your report that negatively affect your score, having that error corrected will be a BIG boost to your credit report. Many credit reporting agencies allow you to notify of an error online, however, it may be worth your effort to employ a credit repair agency to help you through the process.
While a bad credit score can be emotionally draining, and seem impossible to improve, you are not alone. There are many ways to improve your credit score, and there are agencies that can help you get on the right path to improve your financial situation. Getting out of debt is an important step in building your wealth and planning your financial future.
INCREASE YOUR NET WORTH TODAY 