Many loans today
depend on a good credit score. Here are a few of the ways you can raise
your score:
Credit scores
are heavily effected by credit utilization, or the amount of use on
open accounts.
For example,
a customer with a $1,000 balance on a card with a $3,000 limit will
score higher than a customer with a $2,500 balance on a card with the
same limit.
Solution:
Call your credit card company and raise the limit on as many cards as
possible.
The optimum
amount of revolving accounts to have open is 2-4. Any more than that
will pull your score down. You are penalized for 5 or more open revolving
accounts, which is why credit scores generally rise after a debt consolidation
loan.
Solution:
If you have 5 or more revolving accounts, transfer the balances to another
card and close the original account. Also, open cards with even a zero
balance can lower your score, so close them out.
Credit inquires
can pull your credit score between 5-10 points per inquiry.
Solution:
Contact the credit bureau and dispute many of the recent credit inquires.
You should say you did not authorize those credit pulls and you want
the inquires removed. The credit bureau may not cooperate, but it's
worth a shot.
Not paying your
bills on time can also reduce your credit score, so be sure not to forget
the bills while you are fixing everything else!
