Personal Credit Report Rating - 3 Tips to Improve Score

Your personal credit report score largely determines the rates you can
qualify for with most types of credit. The higher your score, the
better rates you can get. To find your score, you can request it from a credit monitoring service or credit reporting agency. Most credit monitoring companies will provide it free with an introductory offer, but you will have to pay for it from a reporting agency.

With hundreds of factors determining your credit score, there are many
ways
to improve it. The follow three are the quickest ways to boost your
numbers.

1. Pay Off Short Term Debt

The less debt you have, the better your score. Actually, creditors look
at
your debt to income ratio. They also rate debt differently. So credit
cards
are seen as more negative that college loans or a mortgage.

Focus on paying off short term debt first, like credit cards. Paying
off the
other debt can come later. However, having credit cards and making
regular
payments is better than having no credit.

2. Spread Debt Around

Not only do lenders look at your general debt load, they also consider
specific accounts. Maxing out any account is seen negatively. It is
better
to spread that debt around to multiple accounts. Most advisors suggest
having no more than 30% to 50% of a line of credit in use.

Be hesitant to open a new credit card account though if you are
planning to
apply for a mortgage or car loan. Opening new accounts can also
temporarily
hurt your score.

3. Close Newer Accounts

While you are looking at your credit report, consider closing some of
your
unused, newer accounts. The more credit you have available, the less
new
credit you can get - even if you aren't using it. However, the longer
you
have an account, the better your credit score.

One way to get around this is to close accounts, then wait a couple of
months to apply for a loan. This will give time for your credit score
to
jump back.

There are no quick fixes to credit scores. Time and good credit habits
are
the surest ways of getting to good credit standing and low rates.