How to Improve a Bad Credit Score
Several things can help you if you’re wondering how to improve a bad credit score. However, just improving a bad score is not helpful; you must also know how to maintain a good score. Understanding both of these can help you maintain a good credit history and strong financial stability:
- Use autopay
Apart from knowing how to improve a bad credit score, it is important to know how to maintain it. You can set up autopay for your credit card account so that the payments are automatically made when due. You can also link your savings and credit card accounts so that every month your credit card bill is paid automatically by debiting your savings account.
This is a disciplined way of repaying debts and ensures that your credit score improves and doesn’t reduce. Having said that, you need to ensure that your savings account has sufficient balance. - Keep track of your credit
It is important to track your credit usage, but don’t wait for your bills to come to know what is due. Instead, keep your own record of your expenses on the credit card. Also, keep a record of your loans and the amount to be repaid monthly.
Keep a record of your credit card usage, and manage your monthly budget well so that you can repay bills on time to reduce your outstanding dues and manage your credit score. - Reduce your overall balance
Ensure that the overall balance due is minimal by clearing old bills and loans. Another way to improve a bad credit score is to try to use only 30% of your overall credit limit on a card. - Don’t exceed your means
If you’re wondering how to improve a bad credit score, the best answer is to not exceed your means. People spend on their credit cards without worrying about how they would repay it, which results in a mountain of debt. To avoid this, be disciplined when it comes to your finances, have a monthly budget, and try to control your expenses and credit usage to maintain good credit. - Be patient
A bad credit score cannot be improved overnight. It takes a lot of time and patience as you need to clear off debts and start afresh. You need to inculcate good financial habits and follow them for months before your credit score improves. - Opt for credit boosting
You can also boost your credit score by including your utility bills to improve your credit. When you pay utility bills on time, it affects your credit score positively, helping improve it. - Use credit monitoring
You can also consider using credit monitoring services to keep track of your credit on your behalf. They send you alerts in case your credit score is falling and help you ensure that you can take corrective measures to improve and maintain it.