4 Ways to Quickly Increase Your Credit Score

Is your credit score far from where you want it to be? Did you recently get turned down for a credit card or loan offer? Or are you hoping to buy a house soon and know that you won’t get a favorable interest rate? While it’s virtually impossible to boost your credit score over night, raising your score by 100 or 150 points over the course of a few months isn’t out of the question. Here are a few practical steps you can take:

1. Hire a Professional

It might be beneficial to work closely with a credit repair company. Thousands of people use these services and have found the specialized expertise to be the fastest way to repair a poor score.

There are a number of companies that offer credit repair services, but be on the lookout for ones that have a strong track record. CreditRepair.com is widely considered to be one of the best companies. They offer a variety of free services – including a personalized credit consultation and score evaluation – and directly partner with all three credit bureaus. This stamp of approval means a lot since a lot of companies will advertise similar services, but don’t actually have any connections.

2. Fix Errors

Believe it or not, your credit report may have mistakes. The reporting agencies don’t always get everything right and you need to carefully review your reports to ensure everything is correct.

You’re entitled to one free report each year from each of the three bureaus. Go ahead and run one of them and see what you find. According to the Federal Trade Commission, roughly five percent of consumers have significant errors on their reports. Nearly one in four reports contain small errors. By fixing any issues on your own report, you can boost your score pretty quickly.

3. Start Paying Down Balances

Do you have outstanding balances on credit cards? As myFICO explains, 30 percent of your score is based on the amount you owe. By getting current with your payments, you can raise your score pretty substantially.

You may not be paying down your balances because you don’t have the money to do so. This indicates that you need to develop a monthly budget and need to better allocate your income. Any amount you can put towards paying down debt is a good thing.

4. Increase Your Credit Limit

Are you familiar with the term credit utilization rate? This number tells creditors how much of your approved credit limit you’re using. For example, if the total limit on your credit cards is $10,000 and you spend $5,000 of that every month, your utilization rate is 50 percent. It’s best to have a rate of less than 30 percent. By bringing your utilization rate below this threshold, you should be able to add a few points to your score.

Give Your Credit Score a Jolt

The older you get, the more you’ll realize just how important your credit score is. It can impact your ability to obtain a mortgage or even a competitive rental rate for an apartment. Unbeknownst to many, a poor credit history can even negatively impact your ability to get a job offer from certain companies.

Now’s the time to pay attention to your credit score. While you won’t be able to go from a 550 to an 800 overnight, you may be able to go from a 600 to a 700 in a few months. This might seem like a small bump, but it can have a major impact on your financial outlook.