Financing

3 Easy Ways To Increase Your Credit Score

It used to be that ”people” made decisions about your credit worthiness. You knew your banker and your handshake was all the collateral you needed. Those days are long gone, and now a single number – your FICO score – determines your credit worthiness.

We can talk about several ways to review your credit but to keep it simple we are going to focus on the credit model created by Fair, Isaac Company. Better known as FICO.

A FICO score is one of the main factors used to determine your interest rate and the amount of a loan you will be offered. A good score makes you a more attractive loan then say someone who has a less then stellar credit history.

Keeping your credit history in good order and improving your rating is not a hard thing to do…but it will take time. Here are a few ideas how to do just that.

FIRST: You need to get a copy of your credit history

You may not have a credit history for several reasons. Maybe you?re a student, maybe you pay all your bills with cash, maybe you have never needed a loan for anything. All this will have an effect on your history.

The easiest way to raise your score is acquire a loan, and pay it off on time. In general, installment loans are weighted more heavily than credit cards. In other words, you will improve your credit score faster if you buy goods with an installment loan, rather than acquiring a credit card.

Another way to acquire a better credit history is to take $1000 and open a 6 month CD account at a financial institution. Now, get an installment loan for $1000, using that CD as collateral. Now, here’s the trick. Take the $1000 loan, and open another 6 month CD account at another institution. Take another loan for the $1000 at the second institution. Do this one more time.

Let the CD’s mature, paying only the minimum for the 6 months. Once they mature you cash them out and pay off all three loans. Congratulations…you now have a credit history.

SECOND: Maintain Your Good Credit History

Ok…now you have a good history. No major debt…now to keep the FICO as high as you can.

You don?t need to close old accounts. (Unless you?re being charged a fee to keep the account open.) Part of the FICO formula is based on the amount of credit available vs. how much you have used.

Another thing to be aware of is how you manage your money. Here?s the scenario: you have a $2000 credit card. Every month, you charge about $1800 to that card. And, every month you pay it off. But here’s what happens – your credit card company reports your credit information monthly to FICO. However if they report it on the day before you pay it off…the credit agency sees you carry a balance every month. If you can try changing the days you pay off your credit card.

THIRD: Fix your bad credit

At some point there is a very good chance you will have something that causes your credit rating to drop. Don’t panic…poor credit can be fixed. Understand however that the process takes time. In some cases you may need to talk to a credit counselor to assure you address the reasons for the drop as well as remove any future habits that may cause it to drop again.

The most heavily weighted part of your score is based on your payment history. The first thing to do to start repairing your credit history is to pay your bills on time. The mortgage is the most important, followed by installment loans, and finally credit cards.

The next largest portion of your FICO score is based on how you use credit. The fastest way to improve this is to pay down your credit cards.

At the end of all this, make sure you review your credit report. Get one report from all three credit agencies. Read every page. (I know it reads like stereo instructions in Greek) Look at the entries and call and contact the creditors to have them remove any errors.

Your FICO score is an important part of your financial life, and using these strategies may help improve your FICO score. Before making any drastic changes to your finances, consult with a financial advisor.

Doc Schmyz has invested all over the US and Mexico. His website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

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