Jump-Start Your Credit Score

Contrary to popular belief, there’s no quick fix for bad credit; however, taking steps to improve your credit score can raise your score, but it takes time:

• Pay off any collections or judgments as soon as possible
• Get your over-the-limit and past-due accounts up-to-date
• Pay all of your bills on time
• Reduce your credit card debt to at least 50 percent or less of your credit line on each card
• Don’t open new lines of credit
• Don’t close your credit card accounts because then you’ll be using more of your overall credit limit
• If you have an old credit card that you haven’t used in awhile, you can use it and then pay the bill in full to show that you can responsibly handle credit
•     Reputable lenders can usually suggest specific actions such as which credit card bill to pay off if you can’t eliminate your debt