How to Increase Your Credit Score After Bad Credit And A Divorce

Whether your bad credit is a result of your own financial difficulties or that of your spouse, the steps to improving credit remain the same after a divorce as in any bad credit situation. Although divorce may saddle you with debts that your spouse incurred without your knowledge, you can dig yourself out of your bad credit with prudent money management and time. The most important step is to not do anything that hurts your credit score going forward, only things that will improve it. In time, even the worst credit marks will vanish from your credit report.

Instructions

1

Make on-time payments. One of the biggest negatives you can have on your credit report, short of total nonpayment, is a series of late payments. If you are so far behind in your payments that you are in collections, that negative mark could take years to come off your credit report. If you make every payment on time for a period of months or years, your credit score will improve regularly.

2

Keep your debt to a minimum. A high amount of debt, particularly in relation to the amount of available credit you have, will lower your score and prevent it from rising. In addition to paying down your outstanding debt, try to avoid incurring new debt.

3

Don't close any open accounts. While it may make logical sense that closing a credit card limits the amount of debt you can incur, part of your credit score is based on the age of your existing credit lines. If you close an open account, particularly one you have held for a number of years, your credit score may go down. Try to keep your credit lines open if you can refrain from using them excessively.

4

Limit your applications for credit. The more times you apply for credit, the more likely your credit score is to fall. When you apply for additional credit, potential creditors may see this as a sign that you are in a bad financial position and need additional credit to live. As a result, you become a bigger credit risk. Limiting your new account applications can help you improve a bad credit score.

5

Monitor your credit report. If your credit report is bad enough, whether due to divorce or other reasons, make sure that you aren't being penalized further by faulty information. Many credit reports are inaccurate, and if certain negative information is on your report that shouldn't be there, it will unnecessarily drag down your score. Verify that the information in your reports from the three credit bureaus -- Experian, TransUnion and Equifax -- is up to date and accurate, and monitor the reports regularly. Get a free copy of your report from each bureau once per year from the federally-mandated website AnnualCreditReport.com.

6

Wait. Time makes even the worst credit report look better and better. Even bankruptcy falls off your credit report in seven or 10 years, after which you should receive the full benefit of all of your credit enhancement strategies. But even with a negative mark on your report, every month that passes where you make all your payments and don't take on new debt should show an improvement in your score.