3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

By Devon McCollum

When you begin your mission to repair your credit, you may find that it will be a long, tedious process. There could be several large loans or account balances that have accrued a small fortune in interest and finance charges. You may find there are a few older accounts that are about to drop off your credit reports. Other times, you will need to regain control of delinquent accounts and pay them off.

Aside from enlisting the costly and embarrassing help of a debt consolidation service, there are a few free tricks that you can do to improve your credit rating. Although the improvements will not completely clean your credit report; however, you will establish the point that you are trying to better your credit score. This will raise potential lenders' opinions of you. Finally, the following credit repair tips will only add to your improved credit score once the negative accounts are all caught up.

Credit Repair Tip: Stay in one place for as long as possible.

Businesses and lenders need proof that you are financially stable before they give you a line of credit or approve you for a loan. Stability in your lifestyle is also an important factor for lenders. A solid credit repair tip is to stay in one place - whether it is a home or an apartment - for as long as possible. If you have not lived at the same address for a minimum of six months, you will probably not be approved for a loan unless you have a higher credit score.

Post Office boxes or Private Mail boxes do not count as a consistent address. While Post Office boxes allow us the stability of using the same address while we move, they are not verifiable in the eyes of loan companies. In theory, you could have moved numerous times throughout your city while maintaining this Post Office or Private Mail box.

Credit Repair Tip: Stay out of legal trouble.

Not only do your credit reports list your creditors and personal information, they also list any criminal offenses you have been involved in. These can include periods of incarceration, lawsuits against you, and other legal fines you have been responsible for paying. A solid credit repair tip is to avoid run-ins with the law whenever possible.

Credit Repair Tip: If you can't make everyone happy, focus on keeping one of your creditors happy.

Making all of your creditors happy by faithfully paying all of your accounts off is ideal, but that may not be option for you. If this is the case, focus on one of the creditors. Make all of your payments to this creditor on time, and even pay them a little more per payment if possible. If you can financially manage to pay a little extra, you will pay the balance off quicker and create a positive credit score for that account.

This single good account will raise your credit score and help you to re-establish your good credit in the future while other debts have been eliminated or drop off your credit report.

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