Your financial peace of mind and stability are closely tied to your credit score. If it becomes necessary to borrow money for whatever reason it is nice to know that you have the ability to do it. Of course, most people require credit in order to purchase the large items such as a house or a car.
You can significantly increase your credit score and improve your credit by using some credit repair techniques. Also, up to 75% of all credit report contain errors that can be addressed in order to achieve better credit and a higher credit score.
You can always complete credit repair on your own but it can be very time-consuming and a frustrating experience if you don?t know quite what you are doing. It does take some expertise in order to actually achieve the results you are wanting.
If you do not have the time and energy to study and learn about the process it may serve you to consider hiring a professional and experienced credit repair company to assist you.
In order to maintain the good credit you have after you have achieved it, there are some things that you will want to remember. Some of these things may even seem to be counter-intuitive while others are just common sense.
All of your payments need to be paid on time or before the due date.
If you are late by even a few days some creditors will report you as being 30 days late. Also it is important to consider that the timeliness of your payments counts towards your score by as much as 35%.
Never cancel your old accounts even if you are not using them or don?t need them.
15% of your score is attributed to the duration or length of your credit history and when you cancel your old accounts you lose that history. When you close an old account you also decrease the amount of credit you have available which can substantially lower your credit score. Your debt to available credit ratio accounts for 35% of your score.
Opening too many new accounts in a short period of time can also be detrimental.
Even just shopping for credit will put inquiries on your report, which will lower your credit score every time. Getting new credit can increase your debt to available credit ratio, which can help you but too much at one time is seen as risky by the credit bureaus and your score will go down. But having no credit at all can be just as bad since there is no history and your credit score is virtually nonexistent.
By implementing a few credit repair techniques you can improve your credit report and increase your credit score. Avoid the credit mistakes that can affect your credit negatively and be wise in your use of credit and you can maintain that higher score.
Image via Flickr by Nicolas Raymond
