This post on How to Improve Your Credit Score hasbeen sponsored by Credit.com. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Thankyou for supporting the brands that support Kindly Unspoken!
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Hey everyone!With the holiday shopping season officially here, today I want to talk about a subject that’s super important and too often forgotten about- your credit score.
We all know having a good credit score is so important when making those big life purchases like buying a home or car, but let’s be honest, getting there can sometimes be a little confusing – especially if you’re just starting out in adulthood. And if we’re really being honest, the holidays can make it extra hard to stay on track with maintaining good credit and keeping your budget in check.
That’s why I’m excited to have partnered up with Credit.com in today’s post to help educate you on your credit score and share with you some of the absolute best tools and resources available for checking your credit, improving it, and steps for repairing your credit, if needed.
Why Is a Good Credit Score So Important?
Having a good credit score has a ton of benefits including:
- Approval for Home Mortgage, Auto Loan, and Credit Cards
- Lower Interest Rates for Loans, Credit Cards, and higher limits
- No security deposits on everyday household services like cable and utilities
On the flip side, if you have a bad credit score you are at a higher risk of being denied for home and auto loans and credit. Furthermore, even with approval you will face higher interest rates and steep monthly payments, and will be forced to pay security deposits for household utilities.
As you can see from the reasonings above, it’s very important to have a good credit score in order to be financially sound. Now let’s dive into some of the ways you can improve your credit score!
How to Improve Your Credit Score
Step 1: Check Your Credit Score
First things first we need to check your score so that we can work to improve it! I personally love using the Free Credit Score tool on Credit.com. It’s a completely free service, with no credit card required, and it pulls your credit information every 14 days using Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus.
Get Your Free Credit Score Over Here
Step 2: Analyze Your Credit Report Regularly
In addition to getting your credit score, Credit.com also provides a super helpful free credit report card that helps you keep an eye on things like payment history, credit utilization, and the number of hits you have on your credit.
Reviewing this information regularly is super important, as there can sometimes be errors in reporting from lenders or banks that can potentially lower or damage your credit. If any incorrect information is found in your report, call the company immediately to work to resolve the issue. Doing so can definitely improve your credit score and will help you understand areas you can make improvements.
Step 3: Pay Your Bills On Time, Every Time
One of the most important keys in having good credit is ALWAYS paying your credit cards and loans on time. In terms of impact, payment history makes up 35% of your credit score.
One way to ensure you never miss a payment is to set up automatic payments, or if that option isn’t available set up monthly reminders. I personally always have automatic payments turned on, because otherwise there’s no way I could remember when everything is due.
Consistently making payments on time can increase your credit score in just a few months, so it’s definitely worth the extra effort.
Step 4: Avoid Opening Up Store Credit Cards During the Holidays
It can be so tempting when literally every cashier at the store is asking you if you would like to save an additional 20% off your purchase by opening up a credit card, but learning to say no can make all the difference in maintaining and improving your credit score. (Especially if you’re planning on applying for a loan anytime soon)
Every time a new store card is opened up, that is a hard inquiry on your credit, which brings your score down! Not only that, but store cards typically have low credit limits, can only be used in that particular store, and have high interest rates and penalties if you don’t pay them off on time.
Step 5: Pay Off “Maxed Out” Credit Cards First
If you have balances on multiple credit cards, it’s best to pay off the credit cards with the highest use first. This will help bring down your credit utilization rate which also has a high impact (30%) on your credit score.
Remember: Going over the limit on your credit cards can lead to penalties and fines, while keeping a healthy balance on your cards can help improve your rating as a safe borrower and overall improve your score.
That’s just another reason I love the free credit report card on Credit.com because it keeps track of the balances of all open credit cards, making it easy to see which needs to be paid off first.
Step 6: Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help, If Needed
Lastly, it’s completely okay to ask for professional help in improving and repairing your credit. Often times creditors can make it difficult to correct simple errors to your accounts, and that’s where it is helpful to contact knowledgeable firms like Lexington Law, who are trusted leaders in credit repair.
They offer a free credit repair consultation and work with clients to improve their credit score and to give them financial peace of mind. With the right steps, improving and repairing your credit is completely possible and often times you just need a little help to get there.
Hope you enjoyed today’s post on How to Improve Your Credit Score and that you found these tips helpful! Do you check your credit score regularly? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for Stopping By!- Cara
