does anyone know of a sure fire way to raise your credit score w/ out all the gimmicks?
147290
Step 1.  Obtain copies of all 3 credit reports.\n\nStep 2.  Review the information on those reports carefully and dispute any inaccurate information.\n\nStep 3.  If you have credit cards with high balances, pay the down NOT completely.  Having credit card with a "0" balance is not good....they refer to it as "under-utilization of credit."\n\nStep 4.  If you don't have a savings account, open one and apply for a signature loan with the bank using the savings account as collateral.\n\nStep 5.  Pay this loan early.....not right away......if you choose a 12 month payback, pay it off in 6-8 months.\n\nStep 6.  Repeat step 5\n\nStep 7.  Do NOT apply for credit of any kind during this process, inquiries will cost you 2-6 points for each one.\n\nStep 8.  Do pay everything on time or better and monitor your credit report quarterly to ensure that everyone is reporting accurately.\n\nFollow these steps and your score will increase signifigantly.....not the fastest way, but the ONLY way to guarentee yourself improvement.\n\nGood luck and take care
215461
It will take several months to a year to get your credit really improved. Be careful of using a company who says they can raise your credit score. Cause legally they cant. Only you can. And while paying them large sums of money, you can dod it yourself for free. Depends on the elbow grease your willing to give. Check it out. There really is no super fast way to do it. But the best and probably quickest way would be to go to Annualcreditreport.com and get your free 3 credit reports. Then go through them and dispute the negative items on your report that dont make valid. Even if unsure, do so anyways because it becomes the responsibility of the creditor to prove that the information is accurate. If the creditor doesnt respond within 30 days the negative item has to be removed by law. In which removing a negative credit report item raises your score. Also, finding your most recent and lowest balance debt and offering halve of what you totally owed for it. Most creditors are willing to do this if your account has been way behind for a long time. Because now they're just worried about getting any money from you at all. Same is 100% true for collection agencies whom took over your bad debt. Offer half and no more. Ask to include in writing and mailed to you that they will remove negative from your credit report in terms of full half-amount payment. That raises your score. Other would be as suggested to get a secured credit card and just use it for gas twice a month or something small. Dont use it for anything else! Thats how you get screwed up again. Make the payments on time...everytime. This will start to show up as a positive item in your credit report and by showing a low balance on you card (30% or less of high limit) will show you can be responsible with your credit and thus create a higher score and higher opinion of a future creditor...such as an auto financer. Heed this and Hope i was of some good help to you. Good luck. Shuuutnstr =o)
1146023
The best places to start is with your bank.  If you have had an outstanding account for several years, they can help you.\n\nOther places are Department Store Credits.\n\nRemember this hard fact about Credit!!!!  Never go beyond your means.  Make sure you have more than enough money to payments and still afford food, utilities, rent/mortgage, etc.\n\nNever jump at credit offers from the mail.  These are not good credits to start with.  They want you to pay anywhere from $100 and more to initiate, the interest rates are way too high and they will bounce you real quick if you miss one payment.  Most of the Mail Credit charge a whopping 22% interest, or more.\n\nA good Credit Card should be less than 15% interest, the lower the better.\n\nIf you get a Credit Card, he is a trick to get your Credit Score to raise:  Buy only $100 dollars (or less if you cannot pay that when the bill comes) worth of items.  When the bill comes, pay ALL but $5.  Each month, only spend up to a total of $100 (remember to add the $5 you leave each month to that amount, ex $5 + Interest Rate + $?? = $100 for the 2nd month on), but ALWAYS leave the $5 dollars on each full payment.\n\nIf you pay off your card each month on the full amount, your credit score barely moves.  BUT, if you leave the $5 (this way, the interest will be the bare amount allowed), and your credit report shows you are making payments, your credit score goes up.\n\nI know it sounds stupid and unbelievable, but that is the way Credit works.  You have to show you still OWE money to get a Credit Rating.  But, you don't want to fall into the common trap of owing TOO much.  If that happens, you will NEVER get out of debt easily.
974266
My husband and I learned a great deal from just studying our own credit on experian.com.  You pay $10 a month and you can view your credit and history anytime.  We disputed many old or false credit histories and now our credit is much better.  About 100 points higher.  It also has a credit score simulator where it points out the things you personally could do to make your score this number or that number.  I would recommend doing that first.
643642
Get a secured one. That is one where you have to make a deposit into a special account and then as you use and pay the card you re-establish your credit. It is a lot safer than getting one with a really high interest rate(19-29%) that I might add is compounded daily. Also for good reference, it is better to pay it all off as you charge rather than carrying the balance forward that's how they make all their money on you only paying the minimum due.\nGood luck with improving your credit rating.
840276
here is my advice to you and it's true,keep your credit card open for a long time ,don't close it.this will be good for your credit history and make sure you only use 50% of your credit.example you have a credit limit of $1000 only use $500 and don't go over that.this will dramatically increase your credit score.
969403
There are many options available. The credi scores will diictate what rate you get...and these scores can be improved in less thn a week if they need to be.\n\nI write a blog on the subject of credit management, mortgages, real estate trends, etc. Check it out for more information that may be helpful.
930017
You can build credit very fast by using a method called piggybacking. \n\nYou are simply asking someone to add you as an authorized user and all of their payment history is added to your report. \n\n\n\n\nRead this article that teaches it: http://www.expert-credit-advice.com/building_credit.htm\n\n\nAnd its not a scam, its free but It requirers the trust of someone though...
166959
you could try credit card companies
980575
I saw this on a news cast one night.  They featured a story where the news employee approached people at random that were walking thru the mall.  They asked them if they had a credit card and would they want to lower their interest rates.  Well.....who wouldn't?  They simply called the credit card company and asked!!  Yep, it was that easy.  Time and time again, people (including myself) were amazed!!  All you need to do is call and ask them to lower it.  The odds ended up being something like, 8 out of every 10 people who called were successful.  Good luck, I hope this helps you.
1146659
Living with debt or bad credit can be very stressful, but help is closer than you realize. Improving your credit rating requires that you take positive action and change your attitude toward money. \n \n   \n  Steps:  \n1.   Request a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau. If there is an error, write to the bureau and ask it to fix the mistake. It might also help to contact the creditor who reported the error. Some creditors will contact the bureau on your behalf.  \n  \n2.   If the bad marks on your credit report result from outstanding debts, repay them as quickly as possible. Pay off those with the highest interest rates first.  \n  \n3.   If your debts are overwhelming, contact a nonprofit credit-counseling organization to work out a debt-consolidation plan. A counselor will help you consolidate your debts and will contact your debtors on your behalf to reduce or eliminate finance charges. This can reduce your monthly payments by up to 40 percent.  \n  \n4.   Steer clear of any services that offer you credit-repair or debt-consolidation loans. These companies will plunge you further into debt. Be suspicious of any company that advertises aggressively or sends unsolicited mail or e-mail.  \n  \n5.   Close your credit accounts and cut up the cards. Sell valuables or liquidate assets that will help you repay your debts. Buy the bare essentials (food and gas) and use the rest of your earnings to pay off your consolidated debts.  \n  \n6.   Work with your credit counselor to repay all of your debts. Meanwhile, live a life that will help you re-establish good credit. Pay rent and utilities or mortgages promptly, keep the same residence and job, maintain savings and checking accounts, set a budget and stick to it.  \n  \n7.   Once you have repaid your debts, apply for a new credit card to build a good credit history. It might be easier initially to get a department-store or gasoline credit card or one from an employee credit union.  \n  \n8.   Promptly pay off the balance of the credit card monthly to build good credit. Use the card responsibly.  \n  \n9.   If you don't qualify for a regular credit card, apply for a secured one. With a secured credit card, you fund an account up front and then "charge" expenses on it. This card will show up as a credit card on your credit report and, if used responsibly, can help you build a good credit history.  \n  \n  \n  Overall Tips:  \n Get a copy of your credit report once a year even if you think you have good credit. You may find errors that will damage your credit rating.  \n  \n Filing for bankruptcy is always an option, although your credit history will reflect it for 7 to 10 years, making it very difficult for you to get a car or home loan in the future.  \n  \n Creditors agree to reduce or eliminate interest rates under a debt-consolidation plan because it saves them the expense of collection efforts and increases their chances of recouping the balance.  \n  \n Every application you make for a credit card shows up on your credit report, and multiple applications can hurt your credit rating. To avoid this, use an online service that matches you with creditcard companies that will extend credit to you. Search online for "credit card finder" or "credit card search."  \n\nNo matter how bad your credit is, you can take steps that will make it better. \n  \n1.   Pay all of your bills on time. Late payments (payments that are 30 days late or more) have a negative effect on your credit rating.  \n  \n2.   Reduce the number of credit cards you carry. Write to your creditors to request that they close your accounts and report this status change to all three credit-reporting agencies.  \n  \n3.   Avoid bankruptcies, tax liens (a lien for not paying state or federal income taxes or property taxes) and collections. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for up to 10 years. Collection accounts and paid tax liens stay on for seven years, and unpaid tax
475111
Sure if you want to be raped. If you're trying to fix your credit, start with a secured credit card. You know, one that requires 75 to a hundred dollars per year to have and has bad intrest, but don't use if for more than 50 dollars at a time and never make a late payment. After a year or two, ditch it for a better card with no yearly fee. This is a leg up to a better credit score.
1059603
I have answered this question in a 5 part series. There are a few items that can be done to build credit. Here are some quick ideas:\n\nThe fastest way is to have a family member or friend put you on a credit card of theirs as an authorized user. This allows the history of that account to report to your credit as well, but you never are in debt. (Just be careful that the account you are added to is a good one!)\n\nHowever, this is not a long term solution for good credit... try these for solid established credit over the long haul....\n\nOpen a Credit Union account and get them to provide a secured loan against your savings. If you have bad credit, most traditional and national banks will not give you a loan. They usually want good credit for that.\n\nGet a secured credit card and only use it for gas purchases, once a month and pay it off each month. No debt, but always paid on time... does wonders!\n\nBuying a car can help, but you will have a very high rate with limited or no credit.\n\n\nCheck out the resources below for all the details and more ideas.
377586
Do not take out a credit card if you are trying to raise your credit score.  The credit check they do on you will actually in the short term have an adverse affect on your score.\nThe best thing you can do is take out a small personal loan from a bank and pay it off in about six months.  Then do it again.  As long as you haven't done anything to further hurt your credit, it will improve your credit a great deal.
1010101
You can get it, just not a good rate with your current score. And there are ways to boost your FICO scores in a few months. I can help you with it. I work with a big direct lender/mortgage broker doing business in 48 states, and because the huge volumn of business we do, we get better rate than smaller brokers. We have over 200 loan programs to meet the needs of different situations, from good FICO score and good income and down payment, to poor FICO score and NO income (called "stated income") and NO down payment, so I will be able to find the program which best fits your needs. Contact me at xjuy@yahoo.com or 408-476-0455 and I can help you. Jessica
511361
Pray for a miracle.  There's no way to raise your credit score that much in that short a period of time.
973880
False. It takes time to build your credit score. If it were that easy, everybody would be doing it.