Credit Repair Myths and Common Mistakes
Many people wish they had a better credit score and you can improve your credit score but you must take some concrete steps in the right direction.
There are also some common myths and mistakes that people make on the way to credit repair.
You can always take steps that will improve your credit.
Waiting to repair your credit can be a mistake.
While you should probably be on your feet financially before you start, you probably should not wait for credit issues to pass.
Start by being proactive about paying down debt and searching out ways to diversify your outstanding credit.
If you are thinking about ways to improve your credit you need to take action because you never know when you will need to have a higher credit score and better credit.
Avoid closing older accounts even if you are not using them.
The length of your credit history counts for a significant portion of your credit score.
If you close your older accounts you lose part of your history and that is crucial.
Closing older accounts will not help your score and it could end up hurting you.
You should probably be very cautious about closing any revolving accounts.
Since another large portion of your credit score is devoted to your debt to available credit ratio, if you close any revolving account you no longer have access to that credit and your credit score will go down.
If you pay off a credit card and no longer want to use it, the best thing is to just put the card away and stop using it but never cancel it.
Charging more on your credit accounts will not improve your score.
Ironically, the people with the highest scores are the ones who have access to credit but do not really use much of it.
Charging your cards to the limit will destroy your credit score.
For the best scores try to keep your balance below 20% of what is available to you.
Keep track of all of your correspondence from your creditors.
Mistakes are common and you will only have a certain amount of time to address mistakes if they happen.
Also if you are disputing items on your credit report, the bureaus have a 30-day window in which to respond, however, they may not always comply with the timetable.
Make sure that all correspondence from you is sent with registered mail so you know exactly when it is received.
Be organized as you attempt credit repair.
Get periodic updates for your credit report and especially your credit score.
That way you will know exactly what is working for you and even what you should try next.
Credit repair does take time but you should be able to see continual progress as you go, but only if you check, of course.
In time your credit can be even better than it ever was.
You can take the steps to improve the things that you can and allow time to pass for the rest.
Bad credit is never a life sentence and your credit can and will improve with credit repair.
There are also some common myths and mistakes that people make on the way to credit repair.
You can always take steps that will improve your credit.
Waiting to repair your credit can be a mistake.
While you should probably be on your feet financially before you start, you probably should not wait for credit issues to pass.
Start by being proactive about paying down debt and searching out ways to diversify your outstanding credit.
If you are thinking about ways to improve your credit you need to take action because you never know when you will need to have a higher credit score and better credit.
Avoid closing older accounts even if you are not using them.
The length of your credit history counts for a significant portion of your credit score.
If you close your older accounts you lose part of your history and that is crucial.
Closing older accounts will not help your score and it could end up hurting you.
You should probably be very cautious about closing any revolving accounts.
Since another large portion of your credit score is devoted to your debt to available credit ratio, if you close any revolving account you no longer have access to that credit and your credit score will go down.
If you pay off a credit card and no longer want to use it, the best thing is to just put the card away and stop using it but never cancel it.
Charging more on your credit accounts will not improve your score.
Ironically, the people with the highest scores are the ones who have access to credit but do not really use much of it.
Charging your cards to the limit will destroy your credit score.
For the best scores try to keep your balance below 20% of what is available to you.
Keep track of all of your correspondence from your creditors.
Mistakes are common and you will only have a certain amount of time to address mistakes if they happen.
Also if you are disputing items on your credit report, the bureaus have a 30-day window in which to respond, however, they may not always comply with the timetable.
Make sure that all correspondence from you is sent with registered mail so you know exactly when it is received.
Be organized as you attempt credit repair.
Get periodic updates for your credit report and especially your credit score.
That way you will know exactly what is working for you and even what you should try next.
Credit repair does take time but you should be able to see continual progress as you go, but only if you check, of course.
In time your credit can be even better than it ever was.
You can take the steps to improve the things that you can and allow time to pass for the rest.
Bad credit is never a life sentence and your credit can and will improve with credit repair.
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