Tips For Bad Credit and How You Can Fix Yours Today

Everyone in the world has a credit file that is maintained by a credit reference agency. Many people have bad credit due to issues like defaults or a bad payment history which makes it incredibly difficult when these people want to apply for credit like mortgages, credit cards, loans and even a bank account. If you have bad credit and try to apply credit you can and will likely be turned away. Sometimes people aren’t even aware that they have bad credit but it is there on their credit report adversely affecting almost every aspect of their life. A low credit score means severe financial limitations and difficulties but luckily there are tons of tips for bad credit and lots of ways your credit can be repaired and many of them you can do on your own. Some tips for improving your credit are:

Get a Copy of Your Report
The first step to repairing bad credit is finding out everything there is to know about your credit and what’s on your credit report. Review your report for errors and if there are any send out a formal request to the agency to get them to correct their information. Sometimes a misspelling of your name or an address of a place you never lived at on a credit report can be a sign that they have your information mixed up with someone else’s information and having this corrected can improve your credit score.
Pay Your Bills On Time.
Getting rid of negative credit information and getting caught up on past due bills will significantly increase your score to a level that is high enough for you to get approved for new credit that can help you rebuild your negative credit score. Continuing to pay your bills on time will reflect positively on your report as well
Lower the Amount of Credit Cards You Have.
Never max out the credit cards that you have and lowering the amount and the limit on your credit cards will help you avoid spending more money than you can afford. You should use no more than 25% of your available credit.
Avoid Filing Bankruptcy.
Never file bankruptcy if you can avoid it. It will stay on your credit report for at least 7 years and many businesses and credit agencies will not lend to you or approve you for things that are based on credit if they see you have a bankruptcy on your report.
Get A Secured Card.
MoneyNewsNow recommends getting a secured credit card to help rebuild your credit. A secured credit card is a credit card that is opened when you deposit a certain amount of money on that card, which will be returned to you once you close the account, and is used like a traditional credit card. Most secured cards activity is reported to credit agencies so they will reflect positively on your report.
Monitor Your Credit.
Every few months you should check your credit score so you can make sure there are no errors or negative things popping up and if there are you will be able to fix them immediately. Sometimes accounts that go into collection and remain unpaid are sold from one collection agency to another and when that happens both of the collection accounts can show up on your credit report and the amount that you owe can show up multiple times reflecting negatively on your score.
Contact Your Debt Collectors.
Don’t be afraid to bargain with debt collectors. Their goal is to get as much money as they can on the account so most will settle for less than the full amount that is due. If you do make a settlement on your debt make sure you get any deals made in writing before you start making payments.
If you have bad credit and are looking for tips and ways you can help rebuild your credit then just follow these easy tips and you will be on your way to a better financial future.