Easily boost your credit score with smart credit management
If you are one of the millions of Americans with a low credit score and are looking to improve it, there are some simple strategies you can follow to raise your credit score fairly quickly and easily. Even if you’ve tried to improve your credit in the past and failed, the simple tips in this article will help you easily boost your credit score by using smart credit management.
These days, having a good credit rating is imperative. For a prospective first-time homebuyer, a couple hundred point difference in your credit score could mean tens of thousands of dollars saved on your mortgage payments. For car buyers, it could mean the difference between an attractive 0% interest rate or paying thousands of dollars in finance charges. And while there are so many benefits to having a good credit score, some people just don’t know how to start raising their credit score. In this article, I’m going to teach you about what I call “smart credit management.” Follow these simple strategies and you’ll see a measurable increase in your credit score in just a few months, guaranteed.
The first step to smart credit management is debt control. While all those new credit card offers you get in the mail every day can be enticing, you need to stop opening new accounts. New accounts mean new debt, and more debt equals a lower credit score. Shred those special offers and credit cards as soon as they hit your mailbox. Eliminate unnecessary and unused credit cards. Keep your old accounts with good payment histories, as these have a positive effect on your credit score. Newer credit cards, even ones you’ve opened in the last six months, must be paid off and closed.
The second step to smart credit management is knowing your limits. If you’ve never sat down to make a household budget, now is the time. If you want to raise your credit score, you need to be able to control the amount of money you spend. Once you’ve calculated your monthly income, add up all of your monthly bills. Next, determine how many of these monthly bills you can pay in cash. The more monthly bills you can pay in cash, the less you have to rely on credit from month to month. If you can wean yourself off credit cards, you can slowly pay off your balances, which will help boost your credit score.
The third and final step to smart credit management is to stop applying. Constantly applying for new lines of credit keeps a constant stream of inquiries posted on your credit report. If you want to boost your credit score, you’ll need to stop applying for new lines of credit and let previous inquiries expire and be removed from your report.
Remember, Rome was not built in a day. You will have to apply these simple techniques and stick to them to see results. But if you can weather the storm early and learn to be less reliant on credit, the results will come. Just keep in mind that you are working toward financial freedom, and while it won’t be easy, the hard work will pay off in time.