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.
8/31/07
Simple ways to get better credit
8/29/07
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: