Free Credit Tips to Increase Your Credit Score

Do You Want to Learn How to Raise Your Credit Score?  

Well you have come to the right place.  By the time you finish reading this page, you will learn techniques that you can use to raise your Credit Scores in an efficient way, methodical way.  I used these same tips to raise my Credit Score to over 700!

The Free Credit Tips I reveal on this page are legal ways you can use to help increase your Credit Scores. If you are looking for illegal tactics (New Tax Id#'s, etc.) you will not find them here.

Get Your Free Credit Reports and Credit Scores Instantly Online

Bad Credit?  These Credit Tips are Guaranteed to Raise Your Credit Scores

Own a Home?  Consolidate Your Debt and Save $1000's - Bad Credit OK

Why are Credit Scores so important? 

Credit Scores directly effect many financial transactions you do, including:  buying a home with a mortgage, borrowing money to purchase a car, applying for credit cards, and sometimes applying for a job.  Making sure your Credit Score is as high as possible is one of the easiest ways of saving money every month.

Your Credit Score tells a lender very quickly and efficiently how likely you are to default on a loan.  The lower the Credit Score, the higher the interest you will pay - because the lender has to take on more risk to lend you money based on your payment history.

Make sure you take steps to increase your Credit Score Today so the next time you apply for a loan you can qualify for lower interest rates.

Let's get started - Here is a summary of the steps I explain on this page:

1.  Get your Credit Reports and Scores - I recommend using FreeCreditReport.Com because you can run your Credit Reports with your Credit Score Monthly - this is crucial because you need to understand what your current Credit Score is and why, and also monitor how your actions are effecting your Credit Score.

2.  Using information from your Credit Reports and using the Credit Analyzer, (gives you insights into your credit report, see sample here - Free with FreeCreditReport.Com) understand why your Credit Scores are low.  Is it because of high debt levels, derogatory items, or a mixture of both?

3.  Use the information provided on this site for free, learn how to fix issues related to high debt levels and disputing incorrect information on your Credit Report.

4.  You might also need to learn more advanced techniques to increase your Credit Score.  Here are some recommended resources beyond this site:

• Do you want to dispute items and increase your Credit Score on your own? Do you have high debt levels and need to negotiate with your creditors? - I recommend using The Credit Secrets Bible for advanced disputing techniques, tips on negotiating with creditors, sample Credit Report Dispute letters, and other tools for increasing your Credit Score.  Many of the techniques from this E-book are the same techniques lawyers use, however there is nothing to stopping you from using them yourself.  The Credit Secrets Bible also contains great advice on how to deal with Collection Agencies and how to best negotiate your way out of debt.

• Are you too busy and want somebody to dispute items on your Credit Report for you? - One of the best ways of increasing your Credit Score is by deleting negative information from your Credit Report.  For this, I recommend using The Lexington Law Firm because of their excellent  track record in the credit repair industry. They have helped more than 300,000 clients since 1992, and their service costs only $39/month.  The Lexington Law Firm will dispute items on your Credit Report for you, saving you the time and hassle of doing it yourself.  Lexington Law also offers a full money back guarantee in case you are not happy with their services.

• Do you have at least three open credit lines?  If not, I recommend applying for the Orchard Bank Credit Card because they will offer you a credit card instantly that best fits your credit history, even if you have a low Credit Score.  Also, the Orchard Bank Credit Card reports your credit history with the credit card to all three credit agencies, this will also help you rebuild your credit. (As long as you pay it on time of course!)

• Do you have high debt levels (over 5K in debt)?  I recommend Debt Solutions Advisor because with one short form they will quickly get you up to 4 Free, No Obligation quotes on your debt.  You can then compare the Debt Solutions Advisor quotes to what you are currently paying, and find out if consolidating all of your debt will end up saving you money and help you pay off you debt faster.  Since the short form is free, you having nothing to lose if they can't save you money.

Remember, any money invested will pay for itself many times over because you will qualify for lower interest rates with higher Credit Scores.

5.  Monitor how your Credit Scores are changing monthly with your credit actions, again we recommend using FreeCreditReport.Com.

6.  Make sure you fully understand your past credit mistakes, and do the right things to keep your Credit Score as high as possible for the future.

Detailed Steps to Raise Your Credit Score

Getting Your Credit Reports and Scores - The Crucial First Step

If you have not done so already, you will need to current copy of your Credit Report and Credit Score to get started.  Using the information you learn from there, you will then need to decide how to best approach raising your Credit Score. 

Without this key information you won't know what your Credit Scores are, how to possibly increase them, or even what to dispute if you happen to find inaccurate data.  Remember, removing inaccurate information on your Credit Report or doing certain other actions (paying down debt, increasing credit limits) can dramatically affect your Credit Scores. (more on this later).

How to get Your Credit Reports and Scores

There are many services that can sell you your Credit Report.  I personally recommend using FreeCreditReport.Com.  ($11.95/Month, first 30 days free).  I like FreeCreditReport.Com because you get access to your Credit Report and Credit Score monthly.  The information is easy to read and understand, see a sample Credit Report and Credit Score.

As long as you remain a member, you will also get any updates to your Credit Reports and Credit Scores Monthly without having to pay each time.  This is very  valuable because as you change things on your credit report, you will get an email update automatically. FreeCreditReport.Com is a service of Experian®, one of the three main credit agencies.

Another great feature of FreeCreditReport.Com is that it comes with a Credit Analyzer, which will analyze your Credit Report information and tell you how doing certain things (paying back debt, applying for a new car loan, getting a new credit card, etc.) might effect your Credit Score.  The analyzer also tells you what items in your Credit Report are effecting your score in a positive or negative way.  This can be really helpful since you can focus your energy on items that will make a real difference.

FreeCreditReport.Com is also free for the first 30 Days so you really have nothing to lose if you don't like the service.  I really believe that this is the most important tool you need to have to understand your Credit Score.  Also, checking your own Credit Report has no effect on either your Credit Report or Credit Scores.

You can also get your Credit Report free once a year from the Credit Agencies / Government, however it won't include your Credit Scores (costs an extra $22.95)

How Credit Agencies Determine Your Credit Score

The three main Credit Reporting Agencies are Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.  Since some lenders only report to one of these three companies, you will probably have three different Credit Scores based on the different information each one has about you. 

Your credit score is determined by the following estimated % breakdown:

• 35% Payment history

• 30% Outstanding debt

• 15% Length of your credit history

• 10% Recent inquiries on your credit report

• 10% Types of credit in use

Below is a table showing a sampling of possible different score ranges and how they can affect a mortgage payment:

Get Your Free Credit Reports and Credit Scores Instantly Online

Bad Credit?  These Credit Tips are Guaranteed to Raise Your Credit Scores

Own a Home?  Consolidate Your Debt and Save $1000's - Bad Credit OK

Once you've received your credit report, look at the percentage breakdown above and focus on the things that will help you increase your Credit Scores such as payment history, negative items, and outstanding debt.  

Some lenders will look at the scores from all three reports, while some might only look at one.  Remember, you don't lose any Credit Score points for checking your own Credit Report.  You will lose some points if there a number of credit inquiries over time for applications such credit cards, auto loans, department store credit cards, etc. that you have initiated.  Think about this next time you get an offer for 10% off your purchase just for signing up for a store credit card, and just say no! 

You should never apply for credit if you are not very confident that you will get approved. You might save $20 now, but you could lose much more than that later due to a lower credit score.  Plus if you forget to make payments, it will really negatively effect your credit, and you might be charged late fees, etc.

Also, if you are shopping for a car or mortgage, try and keep all the inquiries to within two weeks since credit scoring companies will only treat all these as one "inquiry" on your credit report, instead of multiple inquiries.

Another key thing to remember is your Credit Score is not based on how "clean" your Credit Report looks.  You may have many things on your credit report that drag on for years, but remember these are good things since they show credit history.  As long as they don't show very late payments, they are adding points to your score because you have proven to be a reliable consumer who can pay back debts in a timely matter.  (Lenders are looking for this, consumers who take on debt and pay it back!)

Don't bother contacting these old vendors and trying to close accounts since it might hurt your score.  The items you are very interested in are late payments, judgments, delinquencies, etc.  You can close accounts that are less than a year old, however I recommend focusing our energy on things that can really make a big difference.  If you have negative information that is over 7 years old on your Credit Report, go ahead and dispute it since it legally can be removed.  (More on disputes later)

Hiring a Professional Credit Repair Agency?

If you are thinking of hiring a professional Credit Repair Agency, I really recommend getting your Credit Reports first, and then seeing how much work you need to do.  If your score is low because of high debt levels, a credit repair agency is not a good idea since they really can't help you pay back your debts!

However, if your Credit Score is low because of late payments, derogatory items, etc. then instead of doing the work yourself you may want to hire a Credit Repair Agency.  Credit Repair Agencies do the leg work for you.  It's like mowing the lawn, you can either do the work yourself or pay a landscaper to do it for you to save you the time and hassle. 

If you do decide to use a Credit Repair Agency, I recommend using The Lexington Law Firm.  The Credit Repair business has received a bad reputation, so you need to be careful about who you use.  The Lexington Law Firm has been around since 1991, has over 300,000 satisfied clients, and is the industry leader in this field.  Their fees are very reasonable ($39/Month), and again will pay for themselves many times over once they have increased your Credit Score.  If you are going to use a Professional agency to help you, you should consider using The Lexington Law Firm.

Internet E-Books and Doing it Yourself

A word of caution: There are many Internet sites that charge you a small fortune for a book that will tell you ways increase your Credit Score.  What you need to understand is that they all try and raise your Credit Score the same way, mostly by disputing and then removing negative items.  Some of these sites will even tell you do things that might be illegal, like setting up a new Tax ID number.  You should avoid any of these tactics. 

However, some of these books contain very detailed information on helping your Credit situation.  If, after reading our free tips page, you think you might need more detailed help in increasing your Credit Score (sample dispute letters, more detailed credit tips, detailed disputing strategies, some very non-conventional ways of getting credit quickly, etc.) some of these books can be very valuable if you don't want to pay for professional Credit Repair Service  - because you do the work yourself. 

If you do decide to go at it yourself, I have compared a number of these E-books and really think the Credit Secret Bible gives you the best bang for your buck.  Most of the other E-Books are somewhat helpful, however the Credit Secrets Bible gives you most usable content for the price, including real sample letters that you can print out and use.

Get Your Free 3 Credit Reports and FICO Credit Scores Instantly Online

More Credit Score Tips - How to Dispute Items on Your Credit Report Yourself

First thing is to make sure everything on your credit report is right.  If you see something wrong, make sure you dispute it with the agency. You can dispute it by way of phone, letter, online or via email.  If you have negative items on your credit report that are older than 7 years, go ahead and dispute them.

How to Dispute Items

I recommend using a hand written letter to dispute items with the Credit Agencies.  I have supplied a sample Credit Dispute PDF form here that you can use for free!  Make sure you mail the form via regular US mail and note the date it was mailed, however don't force the agency to sign for the letter.  If you are going to use a letter dispute form, again make sure you use your own handwriting - because it lets the Credit Agency know that the letter is a real dispute letter and not just a computer generated form letter.

How Credit Disputes Work

By law, the creditor must prove the accuracy of what you are disputing within 30 days. If they don't, it simply is removed from your Credit Report. If you have evidence that something is wrong, then submit the evidence with the dispute form and they will have to remove the inaccurate data within 30 days or prove that it's accurate. 

Even it you don't remember if it's 100% accurate, dispute it anyway since the creditor will have to prove that the information is accurate.  Many times they can't do this since they might have lost the records, don't have the time to deal with it, etc.  A good time to dispute is around any holidays, where the vendor may not have the time to respond since they are busy with selling new items, not worried about debts from many years ago.

Negotiating with Creditors and Collection Agencies

Our negotiating advice is to offer to pay 40% of your debt and negotiate upwards from there, however only if they remove you bad credit history off your Credit Report. (Not just have it marked "Paid", very important!)  Make sure you get this in writing!  Most agencies will take the opportunity to collect the bad debt and happily remove the bad credit history from your report, instantly helping to increase your Credit Score. 

For example, settling a 2K debt for 1K and having the agency remove the bad credit history on your account will dramatically increase your Credit Score, and will be well worth it since you will be saving much more money on future interest costs with a higher Credit Score.  Negotiate hard with these agencies, but remember your goal is to get the bad credit history removed from your report, and again remember to get everything in writing.  Removing these items will dramatically increase your credit score since derogatory items are weighed heavily in your Credit Score calculation.  Again, for more help in this area you may want to look at some good advice from The Credit Secrets Bible.

Note:  If you have already paid off these derogatory items, sometimes disputing it with the agency or original creditor again may work since it will be their burden to prove the bad credit history, and they usually wont bother disputing it since it's already been paid off and it's even more work for them.  However, I really recommend taking care of the issue before you pay off the debt, when you have the most negotiating leverage!

Get Your Free Credit Reports and Credit Scores Instantly Online

Bad Credit?  These Credit Tips are Guaranteed to Raise Your Credit Scores

Own a Home?  Consolidate Your Debt and Save $1000's - Bad Credit OK

Other Ways to Boost Your Credit Score