Finance: 5 Ways To Raise Credit Score

5 Ways To Raise Credit Score

Written by Gary Gresham

It's not as hard as you think to raise credit score. It's a well known fact that lenders will give people with higher credit scores lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards. If your credit score falls under 620 just getting loans and credit cards with reasonable terms is difficult. There are more than 30 million people in repparttar

United States that have credit scores under 620 and if you’re probably wondering what you can do to raise credit score for you. Here are five simple tips that you can use to raise credit score. 1. Get a copy of your credit report Obtaining a copy of your credit report is a good idea because if there is something on your report that is incorrect, you will raise credit score once it is removed. Make sure you contact repparttar 111921

bureau immediately to remove any incorrect information. Your credit report should come from repparttar 111922

three major bureaus: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. It's important to know that each service will give you a different credit score. 2. Pay Your Bills On Time Your payment history makes up 35% of your total credit score. Your recent payment history will carry much more weight than what happened five years ago. Missing just one months payment on anything can knock 50 to 100 points off of your credit score. Paying your bills on time is a single best way to start rebuilding your credit rating and raise credit score for you. 3. Pay Down Your Debt Your credit card issuer reports your outstanding balance once a month to repparttar 111923

credit bureaus. It doesn't matter whether you pay off that balance a few days later or whether you carry it from month to month. Most people don’t realize that credit bureaus don’t distinguish between those who carry a balance on their cards and those who don’t. So by charging less you can raise credit score even if you pay off your credit cards every month.

The Top 5 Secrets to Managing Your Credit Cards—So They Won’t Manage You

Written by Rob Sallay

You’ve probably never heard of Frank X. McNamara, but he revolutionized repparttar

way you shop on a daily basis.

One evening in 1949, McNamara—head of repparttar 111920 Hamilton Credit Corporation in New York City—was dining out with two business associates. Their topic of discussion: one of McNamara’s clients, who was defaulting on a loan because he had shared his gasoline and department-store credit cards with some friends in need. Unfortunately, repparttar 111921 friends didn’t have repparttar 111922 money to pay back what they had borrowed, so repparttar 111923 good samaritan was now facing his own financial demise.

As repparttar 111924 meal ended, McNamara reached for his wallet so he could pick up repparttar 111925 check. To his horror, he realized he had left it at home—and was forced to call his wife so she could bring him repparttar 111926 cash he needed to settle repparttar 111927 tab.

This fateful meal led to an invention that has transformed how repparttar 111928 world handles money to this very day: repparttar 111929 credit card. While previously available gasoline and department-store credit cards allowed users to make purchases at a single location, McNamara’s personal plight—and that of his well-meaning client—prompted him to create a credit card that could be used in multiple venues. The Diners Club card was born. In its first year, 200,000 consumers signed up for one.

The rest is history. After carefully observing Diners Club’s success, American Express and Bank Americard (soon to be renamed VISA) followed suit. Thank McNamara repparttar 111930 next time you pay with plastic.

But has McNamara’s novel concept become more of a curse than a blessing in your life? Are your credit cards managing you—and is your debt spiraling out of control?

Here are 5 ways to tame repparttar 111931 credit card beast.

1. Know Your Limits If you have a tendency to overspend, limit your extravagances by relying on paper currency instead of plastic. Set spending limits before you leave repparttar 111932 house, whether you’re shopping for groceries or heading to repparttar 111933 mall to buy a new pair of shoes. If you find yourself reaching for your credit cards, freeze—and don’t move an inch until you can answer repparttar 111934 following questions:

• Why am I breaking my own rule?

• Am I being self-destructive with my financial health?

• Do I really need this item, or is my ability to say “charge it!” clouding my good judgment?

2. Learn from McNamara’s Client As McNamara’s client learned repparttar 111935 hard way, loaning your credit cards to even those closest to you is a surefire way to accrue debt. You are giving your spouse, children, other relatives and/or friends carte blanche to spend up a storm—and you are repparttar 111936 one who is legally obligated to pay repparttar 111937 bills that will find their way into your mailbox at repparttar 111938 end of repparttar 111939 month. Be extremely selective when passing repparttar 111940 plastic to anyone who can run up a bill—and fail to pay you back.

3. Show Interest in Interest Surveys consistently show that most people make only repparttar 111941 required minimum payment on their credit card bills each month, leaving them with an outstanding balance that continues to climb. Not only do additional purchases add up, but you are continually paying interest on your existing and new balances—a sometimes considerable fee that has catapulted many consumers into life-altering debt.

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