Credit Repair Info: How To Improve Bad Credit
By: LYNN CONTENT

Millions of Americans are dealing with bad credit. You aren’t alone and while people are often ashamed to admit their financial situation, trust me… it is common. The good news is you can rebuild your credit and improve your credit. You may feel a sense of loss as to what you can do to get back on track but take a deep breath, trust in yourself you can do this and begin to learn.

It is very important to take your time in this process because you can do more harm than good if you move to quickly. “How To Improve Bad Credit?” is a common question and here are some simple steps you can take to get your credit score moving upwards right away.

Get Your Credit Report – As painful as looking at your credit report can be, you need to do this. It can not be avoided. Look at it closely. Evaluate every single thing on the report. Look at payment dates. Look at balances. Look at everything.

Dispute Items – Read this article on the credit dispute process.

Pay Your Bills On Time-This is so important. 35% of your FICO credit score is based on your payment history. Ok, so you can’t change the past, you can change what happens from this second forward. You should know that once your negative items reach 2 yrs old, their impact on your score is lessened. This should be your # 1 goal. It is vital to a good score.

Pay Down Your Debt – 30% of your score is based on your credit utilization. To have the best score possible, keep your total credit usage under 25-30% of your total credit available. If you have $1000 credit lines on 2 credit cards, keep the total used under 250-300 to have the most positive effect on your score. This should be goal #2.

Have Credit – You need to have some open lines of credit. A mix of credit is best. IE. Credit cards, car loan and mortgage. Now many people say they can’t have a credit card or they will use it too much etc. If you really can’t avoid the temptation and feel you may get in trouble, then don’t do it. But for everyone else, get a line of credit and pay responsibly. If a credit card, use it periodically and pay it right off but you need to show you have credit and are using it responsibly to raise your score.

With a few steps that you can begin to work on immediately, you will see your score start to rebound. Give yourself time. Allow time for the process to work but you can see some almost immediate results if you follow these steps. Improving bad credit is very doable and as you see your credit score rise, you will feel very proud of yourself. Just ensure you develop good habits from here on out to keep that score up.