Chances are, you probably don’t randomly think about something like your credit score, nor does it come up in the day to day conversations, right? Most people aren’t alarmed when they hear about credit score, they just know objectively what it is and that it should be good! But not a lot of people are educated in this matter, nor they have a clue how to get a higher score and how to maintain it – those same people probably have no idea why it’s actually bad to have a low score. If you are one of those people, worry not, just buckle up and find out how you can without any confusion and anxiety, improve your credit card score… and keep it that way!
Why Is It Important?
First of all, you need to learn exactly why it’s important to have a solid credit rating and what are the inevitable problems and consequences that follow if you don’t. Your scores are important for a lot of other reasons, connecting to a lot of different things such as credit cards, your ability to get loans, insurance costs and options, car insurance, house and apartment plans, and many, many other things. Having a bad score can bury you in place and cause a lot of problems you just won’t get that easily out of. Instead, you should try to maintain a nice balance and a good score by doing small things, this will surely help and save you in the long run!
● Keep Track
A good way to start, regardless if you are new to the game or a long time working bee is to check up on your scores. It is necessary to ensure all your income stays safe and secure! Experts at 3creditscores.net state that you should regularly look at your credit card scores and reports, just to track any inconsistencies and problems. This can especially be problematic if you have more than one credit card, and that’s just becoming a norm at this point. It’s easy to look past something, but try to keep your eyes open. Every little red flag is important and it should be reported and revised just in case – even the smallest false information might lower your score, so you want to avoid that as much as you can!
● Understand How It Works
A lot of people have more than one credit score, and those scores tend to change all the time. It all comes down to the three major credit bureaus and how they determine the situation to be in the given moment. The bureaus are there to collect your data and find out how you stand with credit – creating your credit card score based on those reviews! Those same reports and rates can be used against you – in getting a lease, getting a job if the company does a background check on you, even settling insurance for everything like health, home, and vehicle insurance! Now that you know how it works and how important it truly is, you might want to start acting on it right away!
● Have Good Habits
It all starts with you and your routines! True, some habits are hard to let go and some are even harder to obtain, but when it comes to something like keeping a good credit score – you need to put a little work if you want to be safe, that’s just the way it has to be, adulting isn’t easy, but keeping improving a credit rating doesn’t have to be! To grow a credit score is not as hard or as complicated as you think, it’s actually quite the opposite. If you do simple stuff like pay the bills on time, pay the balance – avoid any unnecessary debt here and there or pay them as quickly as possible, and know your credit card limits and don’t go overboard!
● Don’t Rely on Big Credits
This may be the hardest one out of the bunch, but surely an effective trick to maintain and grow a high credit score. There is nothing wrong in getting loans, it’s totally normal and everyone ends up in a situation when they have to do it. But sometimes it might be better to skip that option if your credit score isn’t looking the best. This can affect your credit ratings and in a negative way. Sure, there are lots of different loans to ask for, but try to bring it down to the minimum. Avoid taking on new and big credits, as it won’t look good on papers!
● Act Fast
This goes hand in hand with checking and tracking your credit scores regularly, a lot of fishy things might occur behind your back. This can lead you into terrible dangers and you can even fall victim to credit fraud or identity impersonation, and that can certainly hit your score by a lot. If you do end up falling for something like that, it will be well documented – tainting your image for good and painting you as a fraud-prone victim, and no future employer or bank likes the sound of that. This won’t permanently enable or stop you from getting credit in the future, but you will have some obstacles and problems with it later on!
● Don’t Close Old Accounts
It’s pretty common for people to open and close their accounts all the time, thinking it’s better to get away as soon as they pay off the debt. However, paying off loans and debt on time is actually great and do wonders for your credit ratings. So instead of closing that account, try to put it to good use, now that you’ve paid the debt – the good score still remains. Regardless if you’ll use it in your day to day life, it’s always good to have a backup, better be safe and prepared than sorry!
Many people chose to ignore their credit score until they need it or until they get into a bad situation because of it, and then it’s a bit too late. That’s why you should start small, add smart and easy tricks and actions that will do wonders for you in the long run!
