Building a Better Credit Report
Credit will always be important. Your credit score is central as a reflection of who you are. Ha! In the perfect world of the bankers maybe. Anyway, a solid credit score is important if you have any intentions of borrowing money which includes getting a credit card.
If you are establishing or re-establishing credit the first step is to go to your bank and get a credit card. If they won’t approve you for a $500 Visa card consider changing banks. You trust them with your deposits and the money in your checking and savings account don’t you? If you have a banged up credit history you might have to get a secured Visa. Basically you open an account with say $500 and they give you a Visa with a $500 credit line.
Your credit score will rise with good pay history and TIME. ere are a few examples:
- A $1000 credit card for Macy’s on day one will make your score drop. Unsecured debt takes some time to have a positive impact on your score.
- Auto loans are a positive step. Make all of your payments on time and your score improves so long as everything else is current. When this loan is paid off, another bump. To your next lender this is a baseline of how much debt you have handled in the past.
- A home loan has the biggest impact. Finance a home with a perfect pay record along the way and most likely you will have a solid credit score.
The FTC has a nice article on Building a Better Credit Report