How to Improve your Credit Score after the Holidays

In today’s economy, it’s all about your credit scores — and that’s scary. A good credit score is between 730 and 850. In today’s market your credit score is being used for all types of things, like whether or not you will be approved for a car loan, mortgage, car insurance, or even a job. It’s more important now than ever to do all you can to raise your credit score.

Here are some things you can do to improve your credit score immediately.

** Use your old credit cards. The credit-scoring model at all three bureaus rewards people for having a longer credit history (amount of time you’ve had credit). This is why it’s a good idea to hold on to old credit cards instead of cancelling them. But your credit score also places more weight on recent activity than on a dormant credit card. So if you have an old credit card with a zero balance, fill up your car or SUV with gas to reactivate the Date of Last Activity (DLA) on the card. PLEASE DO NOT charge your card above 30% of the credit limit!!!

**Start to spread out your credit card debt. It is not good to have one credit card MAXED out and two others with small balances. Start transferring your debt amongst all your cards in order to keep the balances below 30% of the card’s limit. This will give your scores the most bang for your buck. Maxed-out cards are indications that you could be having financial troubles and will be a red flag to lenders, not to mention that it also crushes your credit score.

**Make payments before creditors update your file. To make your credit utilization ratio (credit limit divided by credit balance) look even better, have your credit report pulled and note what day of the month your creditors are sending updates to the credit bureaus (most creditors update your file on the 28th of the month). Then, make your payments so they are recorded a few days before that reporting date. This will insure that your creditors will be reporting the lowest balance on your accounts, which will increase your credit scores.

**Look out for inaccurate negative information on your credit reports. Consistently look for information that is inaccurate, too old (more than seven years), misleading, incomplete, or unverifiable, and work to remove this damaging information on your credit reports.

For a FREE evaluation of your credit report call or email us at the contact information above.

Credit Justice Services