6 Tips For Improving Your Credit Score

Working on improving your credit score means that first you need to be aware of what that score really is.

Many places on line will offer you a "free" credit report and then attempt to sign you up for some paid program. Others will give you the report of all your credit but not include the actual score.

Be careful who you choose and what they require from you. Also, you need to know that there are 3 main credit reporting services. They may not all have the same information about you so typically end up with slightly different scores.

1. If you have unused accounts, keep them open. Most of us feel that if we are not using a credit card we should get rid of it. The truth is that part of your score is based on your debt to credit ratio. Your unused cards will raise the credit part of that ratio, giving you a higher score.

2. Instead of putting all your debt on one card and using all the credit available, spread the debt around. Even if you keep the same amount of debt, having it on several cards and keeping some credit available on each card is better than having a lot of credit available on several cards but NO credit left on one or two cards.

3. This is a no brainer. Pay your bills on time! Even one late payment can really affect your overall score. If you have difficulty with this and pay online, you have many options from e-bills to automatic bill payment. Check them out and get your system set up so that ALL of your bills are paid on time.

4. If you have your credit cards in place, do not keep applying for more. Yes, a lot of wonderful offers come through the mail. But the more applications you fill out in a short period of time, the more your credit score will be affected.

5. If you are a "prefer to use cash" person, then good for you. However, in order to maintain a good credit score, you will need to use your credit card once in a while. Having no credit is just as detrimental as have bad credit.

6. Check your score at least once a year. If you are planning a big purchase and trying to improve your score for that, then you may want to go with quarterly statements. At any rate, stay on top of what is happening with your credit.

By using these strategies, you should see improvement in your credit score. The higher your credit score, the less of a credit risk you become.