10 Tips to Increase Your Credit Score

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1. Understand the Credit Bureaus• Understand how the credit score system works• Essentially, each month, your balance is sent to the 3

major credit bureaus by your credit issuer• This data then pops up in your credit report• When the new credit card balance comes in, it replaces

information from the previous month

2. Reporting to the Credit Bureaus• Find out when your card issuer actually reports to the credit

bureau• The date they report this balance doesn’t always coincide with

when your bill is due• If the reporting date is a few days before your billing cycle,

and you haven’t paid down the balance yet, you might look like you’re carrying a large balance• You can avoid this problem by calling your issuer’s customer

service.• Find out when they send the report, and simply pay the

balance before that date every month

3. Pay Twice a Month• The trick here is to halve the time between each

payment so that your credit utilization ratio is always below 30%• Set up an automatic twice-monthly payment to your

card to make it easier• This’ll be a good alternative to the option above if it’s

too much of a hassle remembering when the credit issuer sends the report, or if you simply don’t like calling customer service.

4. Raise the Roof• Ask for a credit line increase on your card• This is a different route you can do in terms of avoiding

using 30% of your available credit• This is a great option if you’re not able to pay down

your debt—just raise the ceiling• At the same time, remember that you want to continue

to keep the balance low. Don’t go on a spending craze• As a word of warning, know that doing this may make

you lost a few points in your credit.

5. Just Do It• The easiest thing you can do to lower your credit

utilization ratio is to completely pay off your balance every month• It’s a quick, no-brainer, fool-proof solution. If you have

the means, this is your best option.

6. Retail Credit Cards: No Thank You• Avoid opening up that new Macy’s card, because retail

store credit cards usually have very low ratios• This is due to the fact that they generally have low

credit limits, and having one may encourage you to go on a shopping spree. • One large shopping experience could shoot your credit

utilization ratio over that bar of 30%• So give a big smile and politely decline that bright red

card

7. Spread It Around, Baby• Instead of blowing up your credit utilization ratio on one

card, why not use several cards and keep it low on each?• The key thing to remember here is that credit bureaus

may assess your utilization ratio based on individual cards AND their collective totals• So be careful to keep your ratio at 30% or less on each

card in addition to the total• Also, if you don’t already have multiple accounts you

can do this with, make sure not to open up too many new accounts in a short time span.

8. Check Yourself• Make it a habit to always check your balance on your

credit cards• You can’t fix or monitor your credit utilization without

knowing what it is first• Then, make your move to pay up as soon as you are

inching towards 30%• If you can’t make the payment, switch it up by using a

different card for your purchases

9. Hello, Mr. Robot• Technology can sometimes be your friend• If you’re having a hard time remembering to check your

accounts online, set up balance alerts so that you get them through text message or email• This way, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll see that 30%

limit creeping up• One thing to remember is that it’s a good idea to set the

alert so that it warns you at 20%• That way, you’ll have more time to pay your balance off

before you hit that 30%

10. Stop, Drop, and Roll• Setting an imaginary limit is a great way to improve

your credit score• Ignore your actual credit limit and develop a discipline

of responsible spending• Having a $4,000 doesn’t mean that you should buy a

$4,000 suit• Keep a 30% limit and stick to it• Budgeting is another great way to follow this step.

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