Monday, August 24th, 2009

What is the fastest way to raise your credit score?

raise your credit score
thetravelingmartins asked:


My husband and I hit a financial hard spot about a year ago. Since then we have worked hard to catch up on all our bills and pay them on time. We would like to buy a house in about 3 years. (We own a condo at the moment) Would 3 years be long enough to raise our credit scores? Other than paying our bills and paying off some of the balances that we owe is there another way to raise our credit scores? We plan on keeping our credit cards once we get them paid off because we were told that as long as we charge something once a month and then pay that off every month it will help with our credit score. Any other advice?

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4 Responses to “What is the fastest way to raise your credit score?”

jgrantspecial Says:
August 26th, 2009 at 10:46 pm

one good thing you can do is goto the bank and open a savings acct with $100-200. Then goto the loan officer and ask for a loan with a min. payment period of 1 year for the min loan amount. Tell them to put the loan money into your savings then freeze the money plus 2 payments of your savings. They will not turn down anyone for a loan this way. Then make double payments on time or early, but never late. Do this at 3 different banks and after they are all paid off youll have much better credit and 3 credit referals.

David L Says:
August 28th, 2009 at 3:39 am

If you have been paying your bills on time, just continue to do so. After a period of 3 years, you should be okay. Watch your debt to income ratio and keep it low. Below 40% is okay, and that shouldn’t be a problem. You will probably have to furnish information as to what the financial problem was and why it happened, and what you are doing to correct it so it doesn’t happen again.
you can get your credit scores online from Experion, Transunion, and Equifax. It may cost you around $8 to get it, but your credit report will give you a great deal of information. It will also show if there is any information that you believe is incorrect and give you the chance to get it corrected.
If your credit score is over 620, you should be able to find a lender that will work with you.
Good luck

5_for_fighting Says:
August 29th, 2009 at 9:33 am

The best advice I can give is to pay off your current debt and don’t borrow any more money. Paying your bills on time for 3 years and a good steady job are worth far more than continuing to borrow money. Also, don’t buy a house until you have a 20% down payment so that you will not have to pay the mortgage insurance.

So, with a good steady job, no debt, bills paid on time, and 20% down, you shouldn’t have a difficult time getting a home loan.

The problem with continuing to borrow money to “raise your credit score” is that as you have already experienced, life happens. Financial hard spots occur. If you keep adding to your debt, when those hard spots pop up, you have that much more to worry about.

If you can get on a budget and stay out of debt, life will be so much simpler and less stressful. Since my wife and I followed those steps, we have had a much easier time even with some severe problems in life. We would be in serious jeopardy if we had debt other than our house.

I’m not sure if this is the kind of advice you were looking for, but it’s the best I can give to help you lead a financially healthy life.

brady ewart Says:
August 31st, 2009 at 8:54 pm

1) Avoid using cash and borrowing from family for all your purchases. In the eyes of creditors no credit history is the same as a bad credit history. You may get away with paying cash for your car but when you buy your first home it will come back to haunt you. Even if you can afford to borrow or pay cash try opening an account to buy your furniture, automobiles, or home improvements. A diverse credit background will help with your credit score.

2) Your credit report tells all. Do not lie or stretch the truth to lenders, banks, or employers. They will easily catch you and the consequences are not worth it.

3) Do not cancel credit card accounts to improve your credit. The intended affect may be the opposite of what you expect. You can hurt your credit by canceling your credit cards; especially if you have a long history with the account. Losing a ten or twenty year credit history isn’t worth it. If you absolutely must stop using a card, try shredding it. An open account that doesn’t have a balance looks far better then no credit account at all.

4) Starting early is always better when establishing credit history. Getting a teenager or college student a credit card is a great way to get their history started. For those who don’t trust their child’s judgment yet there are many prepaid cards that report to credit bureaus. Read more from:

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