Bankruptcy was final close to 2 years ago and now I only have one C.C. (credit card) that I pay as soon as I use on a monthly basis for $300.00. I would like to know if there is anything else I could do to improve my credit & how long does it take?

Paying on time is very important. Do not apply for unnecessary credit. Every time you apply for credit, a credit report is pulled and this affects your score. Utilities, rent, and other recurring expenses can be used as a non traditional form of establishing credit. Do not max out your credit card. Keep it under 1/3 of limit. Going over this amount can affect your credit score. As time passes and you continue to pay on time your score will gradually increase.

I would like to get my credit score higher but Im not sure how to go about it. Ive seen lots of credit cards that say they improve your credit score- but id like to find a way to improve it with out opening a credit card from these fly by night companies. Any advice?

i am assuming you have at least one major credit card — that is all you need — use it but always pay full amount each month on time and reduce any otherf debt you have!!!

I heard from a mortgage loan processor that people need mortgages to help improve their credit. It’s one of the main payments creditors look at and greatly helps people’s credit scores when mortgages are paid on time.

I’m wondering… how much does paying your mortgage on time really help your credit? How much more does it help than just paying your credit cards on time?

Just curious. ) Thanks!

What matters is making payments on time, regardless of what type of credit it is, revolving or installment. Your FICO score is a breakdown of these ratio’s:

* 35% – History of Payments
* 30% – Amount of Debt
* 15% – Verifiable Credit History Length
* 10% – Recent Credit
* 10% – Types of Credit being used (installment versus revolving)

It’s not clear how much weight is given to paying your mortgage on time compared to paying your car or credit card on time.

Winter of 06 we were looking to find a mortgage, but denied because our credit scores were too bad. Mine was 498 and hubby’s 487.
So far, I have ensured all bills are paid on time (Since Dec of last year)… I acquired my credit file and see that many inquiries will be falling off by the end of June.
Most of the problems on our credit file are very old (Within 18mo of falling off record completely) and we have been advised we’re better to leave them alone, as if we open the file to make payments, the 7yrs will start over.
We have also acquired a secure Mastercard (It just came in the mail last week) and plan to use it for generic purchases and pay off right away.
When we checked my credit in Feb, it had already improved to 506.
Our broker has suggested we can get a mortgage with a score of 560.
How long will it take to improve our credit to this level with what we are doing?

We’re hoping to get into a house ASAP.
Any help/advise is truly appreciated.
Thanks!
BTW… I’m in Ontario, Canada

Hello, I have been helping people for free with issues like yours. It is hard for me to help with the information you gave in your post.

I would suggest you leave the debts that are falling off your credit in june alone. What you might find is they might try to Illegally re age these accounts there is one company that is terrible for doing this.

Next, you should have at least 3 good trade lines each. I will give you a couple suggestions. Please understand these cards come with fees and I do not really care for them but they do report monthly and can help you establish a good score. They will take almost anyone and are not secured so it looks better on your report.

Tribute Card will give you a $300.00 line of credit but will charge $150.00 on the card before you get it for fees. I would suggest as soon as you get the card do not charge on it but activate it. Cut the card up and make the minumum payments on the card so you can get your "Pays as agreed" status but not dig yourself into debt.

First premeir will give you $200.00 and charge 150.00 to your card and also might ask for a 29.00 process fee.

Orchard bank is a good card. they will usually give you $300.00 line and will charge you 49.00 annual fee. You will have to send a 49.00 dollar fee to them to get the card. Wait for there letter first.

Orchard is owned by Household Finance so stay on good terms and pay your cards monthly. Better yet if you can send something every 2 weeks your in. Household can do your mortgage if no one else will but prove yourself to them by using the card never charging over 40%

Be carefull with these cards so you do not bury yourself in high intrest purchases

Read the links below and educate yourself an authorized user would help you alot.

If you need help let me know

I need to improve my credit score by 4 points for a loan. Is there anyway to quickly improve your credit score over a few weeks\months?

If I pay off the remainder of some of my student loans could my credit score jump immediately?

Сredit repair workеd fine to fix my credit. They disputed and removed lots of bad items from my credit report. I used this service – creditreport.imess.net

The only available credit that is listed on my credit report is my student loan. The current balance of the student loan is $23,500 and it started at $25,000, so my debt to credit ratio is 92%! I keep getting denied by credit card companies because of this high ratio (they state this reason on their "you have been denied" notices. How can I improve my debt to credit ratio so that I can, in turn, improve my credit score?

Have you tried store cards and gas cards they are generally easier to get. Also, walk into a credit union and explain to them that you would like a credit card but have a student loan. They tend to work with people – you are really not just a number.
I heard that using more than 70% of your available balance is detremental to your rating. I guess it applies to student loans (you learn something new every day).
Once you start working pay it down. Sorry I could not help. /

I have alot of derogatory items on my credit that I actually need to take care of. I have opened some new credit card accounts since I have never had credit cards before. What is the best way to improve my score so that I am not such a high risk?

Lenders are like scared little kids… they rely on what everyone is telling them, and your credit report says it all.

If you were to lend me $50 and I never paid you back… will you ever lend me money again? What if I tell all my friends…will they lend you money? Your credit report conveys this information, faster than girls spread cooties.

If you have negative items, contact the people you owe and tell them you are willing to settle on the debt (offer them 40% of what is owed) create a letter for them to sign off on that states you want all negative items removed from your credit report and a letter stating that everything was PAID IN FULL (not settled, or settled as agreed).

Once you settle, contest the listings on your credit report with all the credit bureaus:
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Then begin to pay large amounts toward your active credit cards… NEVER spend more than 40% of the credit available (if your credit limit is $1,000 – dont go over $400 on the card).

always pay your bills on time (not late)… then it takes time and you should begin to see your credit score rise…

35% of your score is debt to income (what you have borrow vs what you are allowed to borrow)
35% is payment history (something you need to get cleared up)
10% length of credit history (so dont close accounts you have paid off)

Hope that helps

My credit score is fair but I don’t want to wait until it becomes poor to try and improve it. Beside paying on my credit card balance, are there any tips on how I can improve it before I am fully finished with my college career?

pay more than the min every month the faster it will be paid off.not saying pay more than you can handle lets say a credit bill is $90 pay 115 or 100 pay what you can if you can pay well over then do so. good thing to get it controlled young smart move good luck

Sorry, multiple part question: What is the highest credit score possible and what is the lowest possible? What can you do to improve it? And the myth that using your ATM Debit card as credit can actually improve your credit score, is it true?

Using your debit card as credit versus ATM does nothing for you. I don’t know the lowest score but 850 is the highest. The average american has a score of 675-700. Anything over 700 and you are in very shape, the top 20%.

if you are looking for the free credit score and report usa national site, check out this site

http://free-credit-report-national.com/

Here you can see your 3-in-1 Report from all three credit reporting agencies and your credit score.

I recently was denied a credit because of "Few revolving accounts opened long enough to establish credit history." I do not and WILL not apply or own a credit card. What is the easiest way(s) to improve my credit without a credit card? Best answer will be given to the person with the best references.

This is a difficult question to answer. It’s kind of like asking how to win a game without playing.

It’s very difficult for anybody to generically determine what may help or hurt your credit because it’s totally based on your own history with credit. You don’t have credit cards, but do you have other debt? (a car loan, an installment loan, student loans, etc.)

ManageMyScore can help here. ManageMyScore.com will start with your credit report and enable you to see the impact of anything you might try to do (open new accounts, pay off other debt, close accounts, etc). This will enable you to determine the best course of action based on your goals for your credit score. And it’s truly personalized to YOUR credit situation, which will have much different drivers than someone else’s.

The online service is under $30, and discount code “Yahoo113025D” will take 25% off until November 30. That’s probably the best place to start and will get you the most accurate information, rather than the conjecture from a lot of individuals who can only speak from the experience on THEIR OWN credit profiles.