Raise your Credit Score Quick!

If you continue to drag a bad credit score, you might pay more for mortgages, credit cards, or car loans.  But don’t worry – you have plenty of company since more than 30 million people in the U.S. have credit blemishes.  The best step that you can do is to turn it around quickly!

Before you do that, you have to know where you currently stand.  It is very easy to obtain your credit score online (through FICO).  Check your score and quickly raise it through the following steps:

	Correct significant errors only – there are a lot of information in your credit report but there are only a few that is worth your correcting effort, which are the following:
	Credit limits that are reported lower than the actual amount. Late negative items such as collections, charge-offs, or late payments that are not yours. Accounts listed as unpaid even if included in a bankruptcy. You are paying full and on time but there are accounts that are listed as “paid derogatory,” “settled,” and “paid charge-off.”
	Create some goodwill – some lenders might agree to simply erase a one-time late payment from your credit history if you have been a valued customer.  Do the request in writing and you will have a better chance for a “goodwill adjustment.”
	Use your old cards once in a while – the issuers of your cards might stop updating your accounts at the three credit bureaus if you will stop charging to your cards. These accounts will still appear, but they will not carry as much weight in your FICO credit score as your current accounts. It is best to charge even a small amount to your old cards from time to time, but pay all of it in full once the bill statement arrives.
	Use your credit cards lightly – charging big balances can really hurt your credit score rating, even if you pay it in full every month.

Pay down credit cards first – although your average credit score will be positively affected if you pay your (car or house) installment loans, the most dramatic result is paying off revolving accounts such as a credit card.  What credit-scoring formulas would like to see is a big gap between your available credit limit and the amount of credit that you are currently using.