10 Ways to Make Your Credit Reports Better

Some people take credit for granted or don't think much about it until they really need it. There are 10 things you can do to keep your credit in good shape and make sure you can use it when you need to.

1. Don't be late with your bills. Your credit score will go up a lot if you always pay your bills on time, which will make you more appealing to lenders. Most of the time, having a good payment history on your credit report will also lead to better...

Some people take credit for granted or don't think much about it until they really need it. There are 10 things you can do to keep your credit in good shape and make sure you can use it when you need to.

2. Don't be late with your bills. Your credit score will go up a lot if you always pay your bills on time, which will make you more appealing to lenders. Many times, if you have a good history of paying bills on your credit report, you will also get better interest rates.
3. Pay your bill in full every month if you can. This will save you money on finance charges, especially for credit cards with high interest rates, and make your credit reports even better.
4. Don't have a balance on any credit card that's more than half of your total credit limit.
5. If you find wrong information on your credit report, you should dispute it right away by writing to the credit bureau. You might also find it helpful to contact the creditor directly, tell them about the wrong information, and ask them to fix it with the credit bureau and on each of your credit reports.
6. If you just went through bankruptcy, start rebuilding your credit with a secured credit card or one that is known to be good for people who have just gone through bankruptcy. Most of the time, the second type of loan has a higher interest rate, but your credit score will start to go up after three months of making payments on time.
7. If you have old accounts that are listed as open but are actually closed, call the creditor and send a letter to the credit bureau. Most of the time, creditors just don't tell the credit bureaus that an account has been closed. If your credit report shows that you have a lot of open credit, lenders may wonder why you need so much credit and how you plan to use it. If the lender thinks you plan to use your unused credit to take on a lot more debt, the fact that you have a lot of open accounts with zero balances may put you in the high risk loan category.
8. Don't apply for credit too often, because too many inquiries can hurt your credit score.
9. Only use your credit cards for things you need, and don't spend more than you can pay back in six months.
10. If the credit limits on your credit cards are too high and you don't plan to use them, call the creditor and ask them to lower your credit limit to a level you're comfortable with. This will not only make it harder for you to spend too much, but it will also stop potential lenders from seeing that you have a lot of credit available and thinking that you plan to get into a lot of debt.
11. The best way to improve your credit report is to look at the information filed with each of the three major credit bureaus every six months. TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax are some of these. Every 12 months, you can go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get a free copy of your credit report.