Is Your Credit Score Is Lower Than It Should Be?

Is your credit score lower than you would like it to be? This important number can determine your ability to qualify for a loan, rent an apartment, or lower interest rates in general. Consider taking these five steps toward improving your credit score. By doing so, you may see results in a year or even sooner:

• Out of Sight Out of Mind: If you want to see a boost in your score, pause your credit card spending and avoid taking out any more debt. Do not, however, go as far as canceling your cards. This action can actually affect your credit score negatively. Leave the cards in a drawer or safe location, and delete your saved credit card information from your favorite online sites. This will increase the likelihood you’ll reduce your debt and improve your credit score.
• Check Your Credit Report for Accuracy: A Federal Trade Commission study found that 20 percent of people find mistakes on their credit reports. Every American citizen is granted one free credit report per year, by law. The three main credit reporting agencies—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—allow you to access your report almost instantly online or within 15 days after a phone request. If you notice an error on your report, notify both the credit reporting agency and the party that supplied the inaccurate information. By law, each agency must provide a free credit report every 12 months. You can find out more at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
• Get Organized: An effective way to boost your credit score is to improve your repayment history. If you struggle to make on-time, consistent payments, consider both overhauling your budget, investing in a calendar to keep you on-schedule, and setting up automatic payments.
• Tackle Your Debt: If you want to see improvement in your credit score and have been carrying a large sum of debt for an extended period of time, set a goal of paying off as much of your debt each month as possible! You may need to cut back on certain spending habits. Also, consider adding a second source of income to improve your ability to reduce debt and increase savings.
• Give Yourself Time: It may be difficult to locate the extra funds it would take each month to decrease your debt or to leave your credit cards at home. But have faith that once you set your goal and keep working toward it, you’ll eventually see your credit score start creeping up and up.

If you would like to learn more ways to take control of your debt and your financial future, visit the Syncis blog at www.syncis.com/blog.