Raising Your Credit Score 100 Points - How To Do It One Step At A Time

Dreaming about a new home or a place that you can call your own? Want get that new car at the best possible financing? Then you know what the extra 100 points on your credit score can do for you. Lets show you how to give your credit score that extra oomph.

Keep It Simple - Doesn't Get Better

'Common sense is not that common' - Anonymous.

You might wonder what we are referring to here. The best way to boost your scores is to use credit only when you 'really' need to. Just because you have credit available doesnt mean you use it. Use cash as much as possible. New creditors are more than happy to see you using part of your credit line. This shows responsible spending and living within your means. On the other hand, if you are maxing out your credit cards every so often or are late, it shows irresponsible and high-risk behavior. So, once again - CASH is king. You'll be more aware of what you spend, improve your credit rating and deal with less potential errors on your credit report.

Fix Your Report Card

School might be out but you do still have a report card to worry about - your credit report. This is the yardstick that creditors use to decide whether you are credit-worthy or not. It is your responsibility to keep this report card clean and error free. More often than you would think, there are items on your credit report that dont really belong to you or have been mistakenly put on your account. If you have paid your due amounts at the allotted time then confirm that the item isn't listed as 'paid derogatory'. Did you file for a bankruptcy in the past? Make sure that old unpaid accounts are removed. Also check for items on your report that are more than seven years old. They should get erased but double-check.

Ask And You Shall Receive

One strategy that few people use is to try contacting your lender and trying to get that stain removed from your report. Lenders with whom you have a lengthy history with few (hopefully none) late payments other than the one you are requesting removal of. Try writing a goodwill letter to them explaining the situation and make sure you dont make the same mistake again. Lenders run out of goodwill like the rest of us.

Bask In Someone Else's Glory

This is one of the least known but effective strategies out there. This is improving your credit score by sharing. In this case you are sharing the lengthy excellent credit history of someone you know (family or good friend) by getting them to add you to one of their credit cards. This strategy is especially useful for those who have used credit cards sparingly but have been above the age of 18 for a while. All you have to do is get added on someone else's credit card and your score could get a nice 100+ point boost.