• Obtaining your credit report
• What your credit score means to you
• How to read your credit report
• Why is your credit score important?
• How do I increase my credit score?
• What do creditors look for?
  
• Credit Repair State Laws
• Credit Repair Links
  
  

• Bankruptcy
• Charge Offs
• Collections
• Foreclosures
• Late Payments
• Liens
• Judgments
• Short Sales
• Reposessions
• Loans
• Installment Accounts
• Revolving Accounts

After reading the other bulletins about credit and credit scores, you are now saying "Hmm...maybe I should start thinking about my personal credit situation." Well, what if you want to increase your credit score? There are different ways that you can increase your credit score depending on the situation that you are in. Whether you have normal credit and you want to raise it, or you have a low credit score due to negative items on your report and you need to repair it, there are easy steps for both situations.

Raising Credit Normally:

1. Pay bills on time! I cannot stress how important this is, because companies are not afraid to send them to collection agencies. Once they are in a collection agency, not only will you be annoyed by the person trying to collect money from you, but they will put this information on your credit report for several years.
   
   
2. Use credit cards - don't be afraid. Having credit cards looks better than not having them to lenders, because a good record is better than no record. However, make sure you are making payments on time and in full, because the paying the minimum will just acquire interest - remember. Give them only good things to put on your credit report - it will skyrocket your credit score.
   
   
3. Do not sign up for more credit cards than you need. There is always a chance of hidden fees and charges for not using some credit cards. This will hurt your credit score, so just stick with what you can manage and afford.
   
   
4. Pay Attention to Closed Accounts. Before closing an account, make sure that it is really closed. In frustration you might have cut up that credit card you had a huge balance with - but the balance is still there. This is your credit so pay it off and close it the right way so it doesn't sneak on your credit report later.
   
   
5. Keep Balances Low. Always running up your credit card to the maximum will only make it harder to pay off. Not only that, but it will make the interest rate soar, and lower your credit report. Pay your charges off as they accumulate and you will not run into any issues with your credit or your credit report.

Repairing Credit:

1. Order your credit reports. You can (and should) receive a free credit report from each of the three main bureaus from www.annualcreditreport.com once per year. Also, if you are denied credit, employment or insurance due to credit, you have 60 days to request a free credit report after receiving the denial notice.
   
   
2. Examine your reports. Once you receive your credit report, look over every detail. Keep in mind that some of the information may be different due to the fact that some creditors only report to certain bureaus. Credit bureaus do not verify the information they receive from creditors. Even the misspelling of your name or a wrongly reported address can lower your credit score. Make sure that everything is correct, and if it is not then you need to dispute the information with the bureau.
   
   
3. Dispute your negative items. After you have reviewed your information and have found things to be inaccurate or misleading, the next step is to communicate with the creditor or the bureaus directly. To do it yourself you can send a written dispute letter along with your supporting documents to the credit bureau with a copy of your credit report and two forms of identification.  The credit bureau must investigate the dispute within 30 days; and if you do not receive a response from the creditor, the negative information will automatically be removed from your report.
   
   
4. Get rid of old and new debt. The best thing to do is to start out with a budget, so that you know your financial abilities - know how much you make and how much you are spending each month. This allows you to make payments on time, and set forth money to pay each bill and not spend more than you make and not fall back into old habits. If you are having trouble making payments on time or meeting the payment itself, call the creditor and negotiate new lower payment or due date. Keep balances low on revolving accounts to keep interest low, and keep accounts open rather than closing them because it can hurt your score rather than help you.
   
   
5. Start raising your credit score.