Best Ways To Increase Your Credit Score
In the old days the "man behind the desk" decided to give you a loan or not. Your handshake was the contract and your honor was the collateral. Now however the "man" has a name...the name is FICO SCORE.
Several credit models can be used for this article, however we are going to focus on the Fair, Isaac Company model. 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.
Preserving your FICO score, and improving it, is not difficult, but it may take time. Here are some tips to maintain and improve your score, based on three credit situations.
FIRST: Obtain a Credit History
There are many reasons you may have no credit history. Maybe you're just starting out, maybe you pay cash for everything and have never needed a loan. In any case, if you have no credit history, your FICO score is likely to be low.
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.
A second idea is to take a sum of money, let?s say $1000, and put it in to a 6 month CD at a bank or credit union. Then you in turn go and get an installment loan against the first CD as collateral. The final part of this step is to take your new loan and repeat the process 2 more times at a different bank each time.
In the end you have 3 loans. Pay the minimum payments for 6 months...then cash out the CD's and pay off the loans in full. Now you have a credit history.
SECOND: Maintain Your Good Credit History
So we now have a good history. How do we get the score higher?
Make sure you don't close your old accounts. (Unless of course they charge you a fee of some sort to keep it open.) Part of your credit score is based on the amount of credit available vs. amount used. If you close old accounts you may impact this part of your credit.
Something to think about. The day of the month you pay off your credit card may have a lot to do with your FICO score. Let?s say 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, but they report it on the 10th of the month...and you pay on the 15th. This would cause the credit agency to see you carry forward a balance every month. Try changing the payment times...just is sure NEVER to pay late.
THIRD: Fix your bad credit
For whatever reason, if you have a poor credit history, there are things you can do to improve your score. Some of them take time, and you will probably be best served by talking to a credit counselor to be sure that you not only repair your credit history, but also eliminate what caused that poor credit history in the first place.
Your credit history is the most important part of your FICO score. You need to start paying your bills on time. The value of your bills is as follows. Mortgage first, followed by installment loans, then credit cards.
The next factor in your FICO score is how you have used your credit. So pay off those credit cards
When you?re all done with the rest of things...review your credit report. Get one from all the credit agencies. Look for errors and mistakes. Contact them to see if they can remove them or correct the 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. - 23200
Several credit models can be used for this article, however we are going to focus on the Fair, Isaac Company model. 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.
Preserving your FICO score, and improving it, is not difficult, but it may take time. Here are some tips to maintain and improve your score, based on three credit situations.
FIRST: Obtain a Credit History
There are many reasons you may have no credit history. Maybe you're just starting out, maybe you pay cash for everything and have never needed a loan. In any case, if you have no credit history, your FICO score is likely to be low.
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.
A second idea is to take a sum of money, let?s say $1000, and put it in to a 6 month CD at a bank or credit union. Then you in turn go and get an installment loan against the first CD as collateral. The final part of this step is to take your new loan and repeat the process 2 more times at a different bank each time.
In the end you have 3 loans. Pay the minimum payments for 6 months...then cash out the CD's and pay off the loans in full. Now you have a credit history.
SECOND: Maintain Your Good Credit History
So we now have a good history. How do we get the score higher?
Make sure you don't close your old accounts. (Unless of course they charge you a fee of some sort to keep it open.) Part of your credit score is based on the amount of credit available vs. amount used. If you close old accounts you may impact this part of your credit.
Something to think about. The day of the month you pay off your credit card may have a lot to do with your FICO score. Let?s say 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, but they report it on the 10th of the month...and you pay on the 15th. This would cause the credit agency to see you carry forward a balance every month. Try changing the payment times...just is sure NEVER to pay late.
THIRD: Fix your bad credit
For whatever reason, if you have a poor credit history, there are things you can do to improve your score. Some of them take time, and you will probably be best served by talking to a credit counselor to be sure that you not only repair your credit history, but also eliminate what caused that poor credit history in the first place.
Your credit history is the most important part of your FICO score. You need to start paying your bills on time. The value of your bills is as follows. Mortgage first, followed by installment loans, then credit cards.
The next factor in your FICO score is how you have used your credit. So pay off those credit cards
When you?re all done with the rest of things...review your credit report. Get one from all the credit agencies. Look for errors and mistakes. Contact them to see if they can remove them or correct the 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. - 23200
About the Author:
Doc Schmyz has done real estate deals all over the US and Canada. His free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state
posted by X - Men @ 11:02 PM
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