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The truth is, there’s no quick fix for a bad credit score – you can’t just wave a wand and have good credit. It takes patience, responsibility, good financial management and time to bring your score up. Are you ready? Here are some tips to get you started:

  • Always pay your credit card bill on time, every month, without fail. If possible, pay the entire amount due, but if you can’t manage this, then just pay as much as you can. On-time payments are very important for your credit score, and bringing down your total debt level will help as well.
  • Keep your credit utilization below 30 percent of your total limit. If you have $10,000 of credit across all your cards, try to get (and keep) your total debt under $3,000.
  • Don’t close any accounts. Length of credit history counts for 15 percent of your total credit score, so don’t shorten your history by closing an old account, even if you don’t use it anymore.
  • Clean up your credit report. Order copies of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus and look for mistakes. If you find one, ask them to fix it – in writing.  Making sure all information is accurate is a vital step in making sure your credit score is the highest it can be.

There are some other things that can help your score, like having a mix of credit types, but I wouldn’t advise going out and getting a mortgage or a car loan just to help your credit score. These four steps should put you on the path to a better credit score within a few months.

Best of luck!