There comes a time in every consumer’s life where they realize that they need to improve their credit score in order to qualify for a purchase they want to make. And it is at precisely that point that they realize they need to get that score up in a hurry.
If you are one of those consumers who are suddenly interested in raising your credit score by a few hundred points, we have pulled together the best of the best information from all of our debt experts to help you accomplish your goal as fast as possible.
Check Your Credit Report
The first step in any credit repair strategy is to access a copy of your credit report so that you know exactly where you stand.
All of the major credit reporting agencies will provide you with a free copy of your report once per year, but there are also a number of websites that will give you advice on understanding your report for a small fee.
Pay Off Any Outstanding Debts
Once you have your report in hand, you can start breaking down each and every one of the debts that you are committed to paying.
Your goal should be to eliminate as many of these outstanding debts as possible as fast as possible, so sign yourself up for some overtime at work and start hacking away at those obligations.
Pay Everything On Time
One of the most common dings on any credit report is accounts that are flagged for late payments.
So, in order to avoid any further damage to your report, make sure that you commit to paying everything on time from this point forward, even if it means that you have to slow down on paying off certain debts.
Deal With Old Collections
Another red flag that is common on credit reports is old collections that may or may not have been settled. If some of these pop up on your credit report, the first thing that you need to do is make sure that they are legitimate.
After that, your next step should be to negotiate a settlement in exchange for having the account removed from your report. You’ll be surprised how accommodating many of your old creditors will be to settle out an old account.
Keep Your Accounts Open
Speaking of old accounts, make sure that you don’t rush to close an old account once you have settled it.
There is an element of your credit score that is determined by how long your credit history is, and closing out old accounts can damage that number, so keep them open.
Raise Your Credit Limits
Once you have cleaned up all of the negatives on your credit report, an additional step that you can take to further raise your score is to increase your available credit on all of your open accounts.
In many cases, creditors are more than happy to increase the available credit on any account every six months to a year, as long as the account is current.
Increasing your credit score 100+ points in a hurry is actually a relatively straightforward process, but it will require some hard work and dedication on your part. The only thing left do is get started, so get a fresh copy of your credit report and let’s go!
