How to Improve Your Credit Score

Do you find yourself searching “how to boost my credit score” or “tips to increase credit score” while getting ready to request a loan for a big purchase like a new car or a house in Wheeling? Get practical tips on ways to raise credit score from the experts at Jaguar Charleston, and don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!

Tips to Increase Credit Score

1. Check Credit Reports: Get a credit report from each of the major credit bureaus–Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion–to ensure that there are no mistakes or inconsistencies across the reports that might have negatively affected your credit score. The Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles you to a free copy of these reports each year–access them at AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Assess Your Debts: Make a list of all your current debts so you can see a total of what you owe. See how much credit you have compared to your debt to determine your debt-to-credit ratio. You should try to maintain your debt at 30% of your credit limit or lower.
3. Assess Your Cards: The determine how many credit cards you owe balances on. The higher the number of cards you owe money on, the lower your credit score.
4. Create a Payment Plan: Create a plan to reduce your debt with timely payments. Good strategies to improve bad credit include prioritizing debts in collections, eliminating small balances on cards, and chipping away at long term debts or larger debts like student loans which may have high interest rates.
5. Open a Credit Card: Have you never had a loan or credit card before? This may be the reason for a low credit score–you haven’t had the opportunity to establish a payment history or demonstrate that you can pay on time. A good way to start building good credit is to pick one recurring monthly charge to pay with your credit card, and to consistently make the due date while staying under the 30% balance and setting money aside to pay it off each month.
6. Build a Credit Age: If just opened a line of credit for the first time but need to build good credit history a little faster, you can add to your “credit age” by becoming a user on a family member’s account. As long as they pay their bills on time, their payment history will reflect positively on your credit score.
7. Minimize New Credit Applications: If you already have a few credit cards that are accumulating debt, be cautious about more credit card issuers approaching you or sending you offers for new credit cards in the mail. Remember – the more cards open with debt, the more this can negatively affect your score.

Find Out More Ways to Raise Credit Score at Jaguar Charleston

Want to learn more about credit scores in relation to auto loans in Beckley? Reach out to your local authorized Jaguar Finance Center and we can help go over financing options for you. You can also learn about the benefits of buying new vs. buying used when you are looking for your next vehicle!