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If you have Bad Credit you may have heard of a credit monitoring service, hopefully we can help shed some light on what exactly a credit monitoring service is and how it can work for you. Simplified it is an annual membership service that gives you access to your credit report from the credit bureaus. [...]

Bankruptcy is a scary concept, but is often the only solution for many debtors stuck with unmanageable debts. It can sometimes be the only way to completely erase your debts and provides some relief from the seemingly endless calls from the nagging creditors. Once you have filed for bankruptcy your Bad Credit will stay with [...]
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It used to be that “people” made decisions about your credit worthiness. You knew your banker and your handshake was all the collateral you needed. Those days are long gone, and now a single number – your FICO score – determines your credit worthiness.

Several credit models can be used for this article, however we are going to focus on the Fair, Isaac Company model. Better known as FICO.

Your FICO score is the method used to determine the interest rate as well as how much credit a bank or lender is willing to give you. the cleaner the credit…the lower your rate and larger the sum you qualify for.

Getting and improving your credit score is not hard at all, just takes time. Here is a tip or two that will help you improve and increase your score.

FIRST: You need to get a copy of your credit history

There are many reasons you may have no credit history. Maybe you’re just starting out, maybe you pay cash for everything and have never needed a loan. In any case, if you have no credit history, your FICO score is likely to be low.

The easiest way to raise your score is acquire a loan, and pay it off on time. In general, installment loans are weighted more heavily than credit cards. In other words, you will improve your credit score faster if you buy goods with an installment loan, rather than acquiring a credit card.

Another option is to take a $1000 and open a 6 month CD at a bank. Now turn around and get an installment loan using the CD as the collateral. You then take that $1000 loan and do it again at another bank. Do this for a total of 3 times.

Now what you have is 3 loans. Pay the minimum payment for 6 months. In the last month, cash out your CDs and pay the loans off. You now have a credit history, and did not go into long term debt to get it.

SECOND: Keep your credit history clean.

Ok…now you have a good history. No major debt…now to keep the FICO as high as you can.

You don?t need to close old accounts. (Unless you?re being charged a fee to keep the account open.) Part of the FICO formula is based on the amount of credit available vs. how much you have used.

Another thing to be aware of is how you manage your money. Here?s the scenario: you have a $2000 credit card. Every month, you charge about $1800 to that card. And, every month you pay it off. But here’s what happens – your credit card company reports your credit information monthly to FICO. However if they report it on the day before you pay it off…the credit agency sees you carry a balance every month. If you can try changing the days you pay off your credit card.

THIRD: Fix your bad credit

At some point there is a very good chance you will have something that causes your credit rating to drop. Don’t panic…poor credit can be fixed. Understand however that the process takes time. In some cases you may need to talk to a credit counselor to assure you address the reasons for the drop as well as remove any future habits that may cause it to drop again.

The most heavily weighted part of your score is based on your payment history. The first thing to do to start repairing your credit history is to pay your bills on time. The mortgage is the most important, followed by installment loans, and finally credit cards.

The next largest factor on your credit is how you have used it. You can improve it by paying off your credit cards.

One final thing to look for is errors in your credit report. Get a copy of your credit report from all three primary agencies, and look at all the entries. You can find the agencies here: experian.com, equifax.com, and transunion.com. If there are any errors, start the process to have them removed. Call your creditors – sometimes they will remove negative information.

A strong, healthy, and clean credit score is a major part of your financial world. Keep it clean and don?t risk it. A good score can factor into things you can’t imagine. Don?t damage your score if you can help it.

Your credit report is what financial institutions use to get a window into your past and your present financial situations. If you are currently suffering through bad credit rating due to a job loss or any other unfortunate situations, there are ways you can re-establish your credit worthiness and start over.

The first step to raising your credit score is getting a copy of your free triple score report. Once you have copy of your report, it is important to examine your report thoroughly for mistakes. You should never assume that you report is accurate. You will be surprised at the amount of mistakes on your report. Some of the most common errors may include: reporting late payments erroneously, listing the same negative account multiple times, and reporting a family member’s account on your bureau. The best way to deal with mistakes on your report is to consult with a credit attorney.

The second step to raising your credit score is adding some positive accounts to your report. Even if all your negative items are removed or expire from your credit report, you still need to have some positive accounts to produce a rating.

One way of getting positive credit is by applying for a secured Visa or Mastercard. There are many companies that are willing to open credit card accounts with a security deposit. A Secured card is backed by your deposit which will then become your spending limit. In some cases, the secured card company may even start you off with a limit that is $100 dollars higher than your deposit. Make sure you find a company that reports your on time payments to all 3 credit reporting agencies.

The third step to increasing your credit rating is having a spouse or close family member with a positive credit rating add you on as a co-borrower. This technique although very effective is a little risky because if your sponsor stops paying their account on time, it will also affect your credit rating. There have also been rumors that the credit bureaus may stop reporting co-borrowers but for now it is still effective.

The fourth and final step to raising your credit score is making your payments on time. When creditors are looking at your credit report, they tend to look at your previous six months of payments. Your current payment history will give borrowers a picture of your present financial standing.

The credit bureaus will also continuously raise your credit score a few points for every month of timely payments. If you can afford to continuously make 2 years of on time payments, you will have succeeded in improving your worthiness with the financial institutions.

As you can see the formula to getting back on you feet and regaining your credit worthiness is as easy as getting a copy of your report, disputing negative items, adding new positive credit, and making on time payments. Once you have re-established yourself, you should also consider getting identity protection to prevent others from destroying your creditability.