Saturday, December 27, 2008

Learn To Repair Credit Score History

It seemed like just yesterday when you were eating mom's home-cooked breakfasts and hitting up dad for occasional gas money. Suddenly, you're thrust out into the world of adulthood without a clue or a personal finance plan. Even if you worked your way through high school, you likely spent all of your money on your first car, concerts, movie tickets, gas money, new clothes and fast food. With credit card offers in the student union and large lump sum loans assaulting you from all angles, it's easy to find yourself suddenly paying the price for your spending spree. So how can you repair credit score history and back-paddle out of this mess?

The first step to repairing your credit score history is to understand the breakdown of that three-digit number and what factors into your score. According to a leading credit repair Attorney our payment history comprises 35% of the score, so always pay every bill and credit payment in advance. This informs the lender how likely you are to pay them in full and on time, without hassle. Also, the more recent the mistake, the worse it will be for your score. Another 30% of the score is based on any outstanding debt, such as how much you owe on auto and home loans and how many credit cards you have at their credit limits. You should have no more than 3 credit cards at 25% or less of their limits. This indicates whether you're out of control, maxing them out, and whether you're literally living on credit or not. The length of time you've had credit will account for 15% percent of your score because lenders want to see that you have a history of paying back loans. Furthermore, 10% of the score is based on the number of inquiries on your report. If you are applying furiously for tons of credit cards, then this indicates that you might be in some kind of financial trouble. The last 10% of the score is based on the types of credit you actually have at the moment, which should be a mix of unsecured credit cards and revolving loans to show you're capable of managing money. Credit report repair should start with making regular payments, then working balances down to 30% of your credit limit, then on to things like type of credit.

To repair credit score numbers overnight, many credit repair companies will call and dispute items, dates, status or other information found on your credit report. You can also do this work yourself by pulling up your free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com, then writing letters to the credit bureau and contacting past creditors to fix credit errors. If the lender doesn't respond to your inquiries, then the items will be changed to your version of the truth or automatically dismissed, which can sometimes improve credit scores by as much as 100 points. However, if the negative information is all true, then your best hope is time and improved money management habits.

You can apply for a secured credit card to repair credit score history as well. This is particularly useful for people who wouldn't be approved for an unsecured credit card. You'll deposit money with a lender and then use your card as you would a debit card. Screen your card issuer carefully, though, as there are a lot of credit repair scams. The best cards will offer no application fee, no annual fee, will be reported to all three credit bureaus and will convert to a regular credit card after 12-18 months of on-time payments. After you've had your credit card for a year, then you may want to apply for a small installment loan from a bank or your credit union. Choose something with a year or two timeframe and limit the amount of interest you pay.

It is really nice to get a brand new credit card that has a high limit. At first you promise yourself that it is just for emergencies but before long you notice that you are using that credit card for day-to-day living expenses. To make matters worse, the problem usually does not stop with just one credit card. Slowly bad credit begins to accumulate and before long you find yourself in a world of trouble. There is not enough money to pay off the bills and interest keeps piling up. Stop living this way! There are ways to rid yourself of that baggage and find a better way to live.

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