Having an optimum credit score can open many doors of opportunity.
Fortunately for you though there are some steps that we at Credit Repair of Chicago have found help people build up that all-important number. You don’t want to get close only find out it’s too much work so here are our top three tips.
Limit Your Hard Inquiries
Credit inquiries can be split into two categories: hard and soft.
Get prepared for a soft inquiry. They don’t affect your credit score so you shouldn’t be concerned, but creditors may find it in a credit report or employers can check the record too.
Getting a new credit card or car loan can have an effect on your credit score, but not always.
You have to be careful what you do when it comes to credit inquiries. For instance, a hard inquiry is seen as an application for new lines of credit and will stay on your report for two years. On the other hand, soft inquiries are only used by those who research someone’s history without actually applying themselves.
A lot of people are surprised to learn that hard inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years. What does this mean? After you’ve been living clean and haven’t missed a payment, it’s likely that the only way someone could see any inquires is if they went looking for them themselves because there aren’t going be many in just 2 short years!
To protect yourself and maintain high credit worthiness, make sure that any time there’s been a change on how much money gets borrowed from other people like opening new accounts with banks, applying for another car lease or buying insurance policies – these are all considered “hard” enquiries-you should wait 60 days before doing anything else until they’ve gone off your report which makes them soft instead of hard.
There are four types of accounts for your personal information associated with your name:
- Real Estate Loans
- Installment Loans
- Credit Cards
- Retail Cards
There are many ways to build your credit score up. For most people, the easiest way is by paying their bills on time with a mix of different accounts like retail cards and mortgages or student loans. Cancelling one type of account can make it harder for you to maintain good habits in other areas.
Keep One Major Credit Card Account
Having a credit card can be difficult for people with poor credit, but it is something to aim for. Knowing that you are trusted enough by the bank gives many people hope and motivation.
You know what’s bad? Having a crappy credit score. But there is hope! Getting your own credit card can help you on the way to healthy finances, so work towards getting one as soon as possible if you have poor financial health.
Keep Old Accounts Open
People often make the mistake of closing old accounts that they think will help their credit score. This is because a late payment on an old account does not “disappear” and may in fact cause your new report to be worse than if you left it open, as well as penalize other aspects like how long before current balances are paid off or whether future limits are reduced. When you close an old account, your credit score improves over time. Credit Repair of Chicago knows all about this and can help.