Ways I Can Help My Credit

Good credit gives you access to lower interest rates on loans and reduces your overall payment throughout the life of the loan, thereby saving you money. It can also help you establish your level of responsibility when you are looking for a job or trying to rent an apartment. You can help your credit by remaining consistent with your bill payments and by managing your existing credit responsibly. Over time, your discipline will translate to better credit.

Monitor Your Credit

Monitoring your credit is one of the most important steps to take toward helping it. You can get free credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. Since credit reports usually contain the same information, you can stagger the reports you receive so that you get three of them at different points. Monitoring your credit helps you know when changes happen and also when inaccuracies are posted that you may need to dispute.

Pay Bills on Time

Paying your bills on time can help your credit because it shows that you are less of a financial risk. You should also try to pay most or all of your bill to improve your credit or keep it consistent. To help you pay your bills on time, set up automatic payments at your bank or with your creditors.

Reduce Your Debt

Reducing your debt is also an important factor when thinking about helping your credit. Having a high balance on your credit cards or too many open accounts with a balance can indicate that you have problems managing your credit and adversely affect your score. You may think about consolidating your debt and paying down some of your installment loans to help your credit.

Reduce Credit Inquiries

Having too many credit inquiries at one time can also negatively affect your credit score. If you want to help your credit, keep your applications for new credit to a minimum. Credit bureaus usually are able to distinguish between the opening new credit accounts and shopping for the best rate for one account and keep the impact on your credit minimal.