Many Americans are struggling with low to average credit scores.  But the good news is that you can improve your credit scores.  Having a credit score above 740 means hard work and diligence but is obtainable by everyone.  You must decide how hard you want to work for that goal.  Hard work and being meticulous is the only way to raise your credit score.

If your credit score is below 740 then you will have problems with the following:

·         Insurance companies – setting premiums and evaluating applicants.

·         Getting an apartment – landlords and management companies check credit on applicants.

·         Employment – employers today check credit to protect themselves from employees with troubled finances.

·         Buying a home – without good credit buying a home will become almost impossible in today’s economy. 

But you can be taught proper techniques to improve your credit score.  In America, 50% of all Americans have a credit score below 720 and 50% of all Americans have a score above 720.  Only 13% have scores above 800 according to Fair Isaac, the company that created FICO scoring. 

You can have a good credit score if you are willing to work hard for it.  Here are some basic tips to help you:

1.       You can’t fix your credit score if you don’t have control of your finances.  This means can’t pay your bills you can’t fix your credit.  Fixing your credit will have to wait until your financial problem is resolved.  You must be bringing in more money then you have in expenses.

2.       You must use your credit if you want to raise your score.  If you are living on cash only then you can’t raise your credit score.  Your credit score tells lenders how you manage your credit.  If you don’t use it then your credit score will never go up.

3.       You don’t have to carry a balance to use your credit.  Many people who have achieved 800 plus credit scores do not carry a balance and pay off their balances regularly.  Charging items to your credit card and paying them off completely each month will help you build your credit score.

4.       Your credit score did not get this way overnight and certainly can’t be corrected overnight.  Once you begin to reduce your debt then you will notice improvement in your scores within 30 days.  But if you have serious problems such as bankruptcies or foreclosures, you may have to wait until those negatives are deleted from your credit report. 

Dispute any items on your credit report that are not yours or any reports of late payments when you paid on time.  Any information over seven years old except for bankruptcies should also be disputed.  Any accounts listed that were included in the bankruptcy should be reported that way but if they are not dispute them.  The seven year clock usually begins 180 days after the account went delinquent.  By correcting your credit report and working hard on following the tips given to improve your credit, you should say improvements in your credit score.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 28th, 2010 at 11:28 am and is filed under Consumer Rights, Credit Repair, Your Credit. You can follow this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.