How I Increased My Credit Score By 100 Points in 1 Month…
And how you can do the same.
Credit Scores can be a daunting process. It often reminds me of an adult report card. Every month, your credit is checked by some of the largest credit bureaus to inform you of your borrowing score. Instead of your grades impacting your college education opportunities, and possible employment opportunities, it informs companies how you manage your finances.
Depending on the score of your credit score, you may have the opportunity to leverage credit cards as personal loans with 0% interest rates, get access to the lowest market interest rates on vehicles, properties, insurance and loans. Now with many companies all across the United States, using credit scores in background checks to decide if an employee can work with their firm, your credit score may seem like the most important report card of your existence.
It was to me. That’s why after years of making stupid financial decisions with my lack of financial education, I spent the last year learning all about personal finance, and got myself back on track. In the last month, I was able to lift my credit score 100 points.
Here’s What I Learned:
1 Check Your Credit Score: It might seem like a given, but you want to go on free credit check services like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame, and see where you need to work on. Create a sheet of growth areas and strengths.
2 Remove Any Errors: If you see any errors of Credit Cards that didn’t open, collections that do not exist or sound familiar, or credit checks you didn’t permit to, file cases through the credit bureaus as false. Once the case closes and proves to not be apart of your account, it can be removed, and help you gain points on your credit.
3 Work On Utilization: Your Utilization needs to be under 10% for each card. For instance, if you have a credit card with a limit of $1,000, the maximum you should have on your account once your credit information for the month is collected is $100.
4 Pay Your Balance Before The Statement: Paying your balance off once the statement comes, doesn’t do anything for your credit score. The statements is what determines your credit utilization. Make sure before your bank can create a statement for your credit amount, you pay off the balance. Set off a reminder every 3 business days before your statement date.
5 Only Use Companies That Use Soft Credit Pulls: Using companies that use Soft Credit pulls, won’t impact your credit score. It allows you to inquire for new credit expansion, without harming your credit, if you don’t get the credit card or credit line.
These five tips have helped me the most to raise my credit score. Every month, I now make make a financial appointment with myself. I go over my credit score, my budget for the month, my investment strategies and decisions.
The more hands on you are with your finances, the less daunting the experience will seem. By creating financial goals for the future, and actively working towards it, credit scores and credit in general will appear less nerve-wrecking.
If you have any tips you would like to share to others, please comment below.
