If you have fallen on hard times and missed a few payments on your credit cards, or you were late a few times, this can have a substantial impact on your credit history report. Did you know that 35% of your credit score is based on making payments on time? Don’t panic if you have missed some payments, or you were late a few times. There are ways which you can use to do some credit repair and increase your credit score.
It always amazes me that some people don’t understand how drastically your credit score affects the amount of interest paid on a loan. Many people think that because they actually get the loan, they must have good credit. That is not always true. Even if you have a less-than-perfect credit history a loan can still be given to you easily. However, it’s the amount of interest that you pay which is of concern.
Fast Credit Repair
Fixing your credit score is one of the best things to do if you want to save some money over the long-term. Since your interest rate will go down, less of your money goes towards interest and more of it goes towards the principal which can literally save you thousands of dollars. Here are some tips for a fast credit repair:
• Check your limits – Check to make sure the credit limits that you have on your accounts are accurate. If you have a credit card limit of $2,000 but the report only shows $1,000 and you have an $800 balance this will affect your debt to credit ratio, and ultimately your credit score.
• Credit Card Usage – Don’t use your cards too much, even if you pay in full each month. It’s a good idea to keep your debt to credit ratio as low as possible while still paying a balance each month.
• Pay down Credit Cards – Any type of revolving account carries more weight than an installment account (mortgages, car loans, etc.), so your goal should be to pay these down as soon as possible.
• Dispute Errors – A lot of credit reports contain errors, look over your report carefully and dispute any errors you find. This can do wonders for your credit score.
• Good Customer Treatment – Have you been paying your loan every month, but then fell into a little hole and you were late on 1 or 2 payments, but continued to pay on time every month there after? Ask the lender in writing if they will change your late payment to an on time payment. They will probably do it as long as you have been paying on time.
Repair Bad Credit
Repairing bad credit can sometimes be difficult and complicated. In many cases these fixes can be done by you, without seeking outside help. If you feel this may be too difficult for you to do it’s best to seek help from a legal credit repair company for a consultation if necessary.
Credit history repair can certainly be achieved on your own with some quality information and education but it is not for everyone. In order to repair your credit history some knowledge and understand is needed, but luckily there are a lot of great sources that can help you achieve this important task.