Fix Your Credit!

Are you struggling to fix your credit and you have no idea how to? Don’t want to pay someone to do what you can do? I’m here to help!

A little about me: I’m 25 With three kids. Crazy, i know right? My credit was right under 600 and my fiancé credit was around 500. We struggled for a while especially with having a low credit score.

You need good credit to rent a house, a mortage to buy a house, an auto loan, personal loan, etc. Your credit can really affect your life. It’s important that you understand credit and stay on top of yours.

First thing first, what is your credit score? Is it under 600? Maybe even under 500? Next I want you to get a pen and paper and write down what is on your credit. School loans? Auto loans? Credit cards? What are they cost of them? See if they are in good standing (paying on time), how far behind you are, what do you owe?

All lenders, bankers, and landlords check your FICO credit score which is so important out of all 3 credit bureaus. They don’t just check the number, they see how your payments are; if you’re paying on time, how long its been open, how you handle your money. The higher the score and on time payments, the lower the risk you are. But don’t worry! There’s way to fix it!

Stats: Credit Score:

35% - ON TIME PAYMENTS - You always pay your bills on time without being late. If you ever miss a payment or are late, it was Drastically drop your score.

30% - CREDIT UTILIZATION - This is calculation of how much credit you have available to you vs how much you actually use. If you max out all of your cards or use almost all of the credit available to you, then it will lower your score as it’s a risk.

15% - AGE OF CREDIT - The lenders can see how long you have had accounts open for. The longer you have had them open and in good standing, the higher the chances are that you are going to be a responsible borrower.

10% - TYPES OF CREDIT - Lenders want you to have experience in having multpile loans opened to prove to them that you are responsible and will make on time payments.

10% - HARD INQUIRIES - The more you apply for things like a line of credit for credit cards, the lower your score gets. Lenders are worried that you are actively out there trying to get as much credit as you can because of that you are seen as a higher risk in which they will deny you.

I know nobody likes this system but it is what it is.

Methods on how to up your score:

1. Credit History - Ask a family member or close friend to make you an authorized user on their account. They don’t have to give you your own card, it will still make your credit increase as long as they are making payments on time. Make sure you use somebody who is responsible.

2. High Utilization - Pay down on your balances so that your utilizations are lower than 10%. For most people, this will make the biggest difference for people in the shortest amount of time.

Side note- A higher score will be reflected in 14-30 days.

3. Experian Boost - If you sign up for Experin Boost then they will add your phone bill and other utilities to your credit history, making your score go up. They also help out with other free products and services for boosting your score.

4. Late Payments - Before I start, just remember the longer you wait the worst it gets, you cannot ignore your credit. Anyways, pay off any late amounts as soon as possible. Even if you’re only making a minimum payment on it, it’s better than no payment at all.

You can always Negotiate your payments with the lender. Most companies would rather negotiate with you than get nothing back at all.

5. DO NOT CLOSE OLD ACCOUNTS - This will show lenders how long you have had accounts open and in good standing which will look good on you. It will also make your score higher for as long as possible.

To end, DO NOT pay anyone to repair your credit. They are just doing the same thing that you can do completely free.

Good luck and I wish you the best in repairing your credit!