Simple ways to get better credit

One excellent tip for restoring good credit is to decide for yourself never to charge more than 50% of your credit limit on your credit cards, and don't ever allow yourself to build up a balance of more than 50% of your available credit at any one time.
Carrying a large balance in relation to your overall credit limit is the perfect way to lower your credit score. You want good credit. Here is a simple way to get better credit in the shortest possible time:
Charge a modest amount the first month, say $200. Pay about 20% over the minimum payment due from your first billing, and then the following month, pay the entire balance. Do the same thing for the next 5-6 months, and always, always, always be timely with your payment.
Our advice: pay your credit card bill online a few days BEFORE it is due, that way, you will have time to call the credit card company if your payment hasn't posted to your account due to technical reasons.
At the end of the six month period, take money from savings and pay off the entire balance. Keep the card open, maybe charging something every now and then and remember to always pay the card in full each month before the due date.
Within 18-24 months, you should be boasting a much higher credit score.
Restoring good credit requires time, commitment, organization and solid common sense. By cleaning up your credit when you don't need to borrow money, you will have a much better ability to get decent terms and access to money when you do indeed need to take out a loan or when you apply for new credit.

What's wrong with your credit?

There are a few basic steps to cleaning up your credit reports to boost your ability to borrow money for investments, long-term beneficial purchases, college education, a new car or a new home. Follow our free tips for rebuilding credit scores by 60-90 points.
When something is wrong with your credit, then this info regarding repairing and raising your credit score will lead you step-by-step through these easy to learn procedures:
Step #1 -- Request credit report from each credit reporting agency in your area.
Step #2 -- Dispute all inaccurate entries in writing and mail to respective agencies.
Step #3 -- Review updated credit reports you'll receive in 60-90 days. Detect any items which were not removed into another letter (basically repeting Step #2 until erroneous entry has been removed.) Mail this letter 120 days from last updated report you receive.
Step #4 -- If all else fails, you can write a 100-word statement entry that explains your side of the story for entries you cannot get removed by any other means.
There is power in dispute letters when you send them to the credit bureaus. Learn how to write letters to fix bad credit scores at http://www.findhow2.com/repair-credit.html

Check credit report for free

I've been sounding the alarm for years: your credit score is precious. It affects every part of your life. Why people don't pay more attention to fixing their credit is astounding.

Maybe they like paying more money for car insurance, or a higher interest rate on home , boat and auto loans, or worrying that their credit card company might jack up their interest rates anyday now.

Your credit score is much like the references that you post on your resume when you are looking for a new job, and when you apply for new credit, bad credit returns bad results.

Higher credit score, the lower the risk, so the argument goes with lenders.
Is it true? You may not like to hear this, but the statistics bear them out: Yes, people with high credit generally pay their bills on time.

But what we're focusing on here are the ERRORS lurking in your credit report, and it's still real simple to find them, dispute them, and get them deleted.

Can you recall the last time you checked your credit report? If not, don't despair, you an still get a free copy of your credit report from each of the major credit reporting bureaus from the web site annualcreditreport.com.

We've included some free sample dispute letters that you can copy and paste to challenge errors you may find in any of your credit reports. You'll find them at:

http://www.FindHow2.com/repair-credit.html

Do-it-yourself credit dispute letters

One of the best ways to get derogatory marks deleted from your credit report is to learn how to write and submit a dispute letter. It's not hard, and now we've made it easy for you by providing free sample letters showing you how to do it yourself.
Unflattering information that is inaccurate, duplicated or outdated derogatory content appearing in your credit report should be removed promptly once you notify the CRA's (credit reporting agencies).
You can now get free sample dispute letters at http://www.findhow2.com/repair-credit.html
But don't think simply writing credit report dispute letters will get rid of any accurate and timely information.
Information that is true will stay on your credit report, no matter what you do or whichever scam credit report repair firm you pay money to. Our free sample letter formats work, but they are effective only when they are used to request inaccurate, outdated or erroneous entries appear in your credit. No matter what anyone else promises you, that's just the facts.
Incorrect information winds up hurting your credit score. We believe that as the current credit crunch evolves, your credit history will become your most important asset in gaining credit and you should be vigilant to keep it as clean as possible.
You have more rights today than anytime in history to fix your own credit yourself. These sample dispute letters and accompanying free credit repair information is an easy way to improve your credit rating yourself. Feel free to copy and paste our sample letters and customize them to fit your needs. Get yours today.
http://www.findhow2.com/repair-credit.html

Consistent payments improve credit score

Some people think that if they pay off all their debts, then their credit score will magically shoot up and give them great credit.

Nope. Your credit score is the sum total of your past credit use, your past credit history, not current payments.

Sure, the fact that you PAY your bills is important. But TIMELY PAYMENTS each and every month are truly the biggie here. It's wise to use a bill-paying calendar -- any calendar will do -- and write in when your debts are due one full week before they are due.

This way, if you are a day or two delinquent in paying them according to your calendar, your payment arrives on time.

When it comes to credit card payments, there's no need to even mail payments anymore. Online bill payment systems actually can post your payment the same day you make it, so long as you do it early in the day.

I personally enter in my credit card payment due date into my cell phone's calendar function. The phone beeps, I look at the message, it says "Pay CC today," and I make time to log in to my credit company's website, authorize the correct payment due, and click "OK Payment." It's done in 5 minutes, and my payments have never been late due to slow mail delivery.

In fact, I usually make the next month's payment a few days AFTER my regular payment is due. So, if my credit card payment is due on the 5th of the month, I will log onto my online account on the 7th of the month, make the next month's minimum payment, and know that I can make another payment before the following month by the 5th to help pay down credit card debt. This way, I know I'm not late, and I can pay down credit card balances as my income allows.

If late payments have indeed damaged your credit score, you will need to make months of on-time payments consistently to repair the damage. Consistent payments each month by their due dates is what will improve your credit score, not one-time payments in full.

Raise Credit Score 30pts, Save $76 Year: Survey

The Consumer Federation of America released a study July 19, 2007, stating that consumers could save more than $20 billion a year if they increased their credit score slightly.

On average, each consumer who increased his or her FICO credit score by just 30 points could reduce their credit finance charges by $76 a year.
The CFA claims that most Americans are clueless how their credit scores affect important areas of their lives.

Their report is found at:
http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Credit_Score_Release_07_19_07.pdf

Solution? Paying all bills on time, refraining from using too much of their available credit on their credit cards, paying down debt instead of buying more things, and monitoring and disputing errors in their credit reports are the four best ways consumers can raise their credit scores, according to the report.

The FICO credit score, by Fair Issac Corp., is the benchmark credit score used by 9 out of 10 lenders. Fair Isaac's website (http://www.myfico.com/) details how consumers can lower the cost of loans simply by raisng their credit score by relatively small increments.

We've been compiling free tips on how to improve your credit scores at FindHow2.com since March 2006. We invite you to log on today to learn how to get better credit.