Right now many people are frantically trying to find out what the best credit repair actions are that they can take, as banks tighten up dramatically on the credit scores that they will approve for credit. Anyone with a score under 700 is likely not to get great credit offers, so finding a way to improve credit is really important. But best does not necessarily mean fast.
The best credit repair efforts are those that you accomplish over a few months, because credit reporting agencies update monthly, and sometimes changes you’ve made in your credit will not show up for a while. Still, taking the steps and moving along one step at a time is important so that you are rebuilding your credit. So what are some of the best steps you can take to fix your credit?
Of course you want to get copies of your credit report, and this is where just about everyone should start. Review your report to know what is on there that is damaging your score. Also, it’s key to make sure there are no errors. You can get a copy of your credit reports at http://annualcreditreport.com. This is the FREE site from the government which gets you copies of the “big three” reporting agencies reports. These are free, and you can download copies online. Start looking at these to see if there are any errors. Get all of your mistakes fixed on your reports – every error can mean a ding on your credit score. Also, check each report, as the three can each have different information.
After you look at your reports, you should be working to get all your payments current on all of your debts. Any delinquent payment, even if you’ve been on time for many months, will jam up your credit score. Do whatever you can to get current as soon as possible. This can include maybe selling off some stuff on EBay or Craigslist, throwing a garage sale, getting a part time job, or even starting something like an online business that brings in a few hundred a month. Whatever you do, try to get everything up to date.
As a last step, work hard to pay more than each creditor requires as a minimum payment every month. When you pay extra, you save a lot of money on interest payments over the life of your debt. You also get closer to paying off those debts much more quickly. Just as with getting current, find additional income if you need to, by selling some stuff, or working on the side. The best credit repair you can do is the repair steps that get you started and get your debts under control.