1. check your credit reports and credit score

Knowing where your credit stands today will help you see what needs work for the future. You can get one free credit report every week from all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.¹

2. pay your bills on time

Every on-time payment improves your credit history. Lenders look at how reliably you pay your bills as a predictor of how you might pay future bills. Set up automatic payments or use your phone’s calendar reminders if you need help remembering due dates.²

3. keep balances low on revolving credit accounts or pay them off

When working to improve your credit, try to keep your credit utilization rate (CUR) below 30%. Your CUR is the amount of revolving credit you’re using now divided by the total amount of revolving credit you have.³

4. review your unused credit cards

Keep unused credit accounts open unless annual fees cost you too much. Your credit history and scores benefit from a long credit history and higher total credit limit. Closing an account won’t drop off your credit report immediately, but the effects on your credit utilization rate are immediate.^2,4

5. manage your money with a budget

When you use a budget, you’re deciding in advance how you’ll spend your money every month.⁵ That can help you pay bills on time (tip 2), plus pay down debt and keep your revolving credit balances low (tip 3).

6. be suspicious of too-good-to-be-true claims from credit repair companies

They can’t lie about what they can do for you, like tell you they can remove negative info from your credit report if that info is true. Also, they can’t promise you a specific increase to your credit score, guarantee a certain result or ask you to pay up front for their services.^6,7

7. build new credit history responsibly

If you get a new credit account, make monthly payments on time and keep your account balance low. Do the same with your existing accounts. Also, don’t apply for more credit than you need.

8. be patient

It takes time to improve your credit. You can rebuild it by paying your bills by the due date, paying off debt and not taking on new debt.⁶

Don’t beat yourself up if you make mistakes along the way. Working to improve your credit is one of the best things you can do for you and your family’s future.

¹ https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/05/credit-reports-are-now-free-every-week
² https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/improving-credit/improve-credit-score/
³ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/score-basics/credit-utilization-rate/
⁴ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/ways-to-improve-credit/
⁵ https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-to-make-a-budget/
⁶ https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/fixing-your-credit
⁷ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/how-avoid-credit-repair-service-scams/