Effectively Raise Your Credit Scores Permanently

By Chane Steiner

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The single best way to raise your credit score is to manage it responsibly while recognizing it takes time. The most obvious way is to pay your bills each month and on time. It's important to live below your means so that you have enough money each month to meet your financial obligations. None of the following techniques I'm about to share with you will work long-term if you cannot manage and maintain your spending habits.

Here are some quick tips to improve your credit scores now:

Learn the Ways of the Credit System

If you don't know how this game works, you will never win it. It's a life lesson every consumer must learn. The sooner you learn this, the better your life will be. Yes, your credit scores are that important. Do not listen to what a friend of a friend said. There is a lot of misinformation that is inaccurate at best. Ensure your information is credible and comes from trusted financial sites and books.

Keep Your Credit Card Balances Low

High balances on credit cards and other revolving accounts hurt your scores. Keep your balances below 30% of your available credit limit. Never allow your balances to go higher than 50%. The importance of this one tip cannot be emphasized enough. Never give an appearance to the banks that you are "strapped". Once you allow them to see you're using nearly all of your available credit, it appears that you are in a state of financial straits. It should also be noted this all plays a role in the FICO scoring algorithm and at that time, only very high interest rate lenders will approve your loan.

Apply for New Credit Accounts Only as Needed

Applying for new accounts lowers your credit scores, especially if you apply for multiple accounts in a brief period of time. If you're aware of your bad credit, apply for nothing. Applying with the knowledge of your bad credit is senseless and is to your disadvantage. "It's worth a try" is never successful. Each effort you make knowing you'll not be approved further lowers your scores.

Remove Negative Accounts

This is my favorite. This is what credit repair is all about. Learn how to remove negative accounts or hire a reputable credit repair agency to assist you. Removing these accounts is by far the fastest way to raise your credit scores.