A crash course to fixing your credit

A low credit score isn’t a death sentence for your financial future. While it may complicate loan applications and other money matters in the short term, boosting your score is certainly possible… and we can help you sort it out! Here’s a quick guide to begin re-building your credit—today.

Make on-time payments The first step to fixing your credit is also the easiest. If you don’t already, start making on-time payments for your credit cards every month. Consecutive late payments will negatively impact your score, but you can turn the trend around by remembering to pay before the deadline. It may take several months of being on time, but eventually your score will improve.

Avoid multiple hard inquiries Hard credit inquiries occur when you apply for a credit card or loan (soft inquires, by contrast, happen as a part of background checks or preapprovals, and don’t affect your score). If you apply for several loans or cards at once, lenders will likely suspect that you can’t qualify. Not only will you be unable to get the credit you need, your credit score will take a hit.

Re-evaluate your budget As an alternative to applying for more credit to get the money you need, take a hard look at your budget instead. Figure out ways to cut back on spending, and see if you can make bigger payments to your cards or loans every month. If the money just isn’t available, can you pick up a part-time job to supplement your income? Larger payments will reduce your debt (and related fees) more quickly, and lower your credit card utilization. As a result, your credit score will improve over time.