FIX YOUR CREDIT – anyone can do it

These days credit is more important than ever. The economy is doing poorly and banks and credit card companies are really getting tough on issuing any kind of credit if your score is not high enough. Unfortunately, its very easy to do things that hurt your credit, some of which don't make sense from a logic standpoint. This is where you need to learn how to fix your credit. The credit bureaus – Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian all have their own formula that converts payment histories and credit lines into a numerical number that is supposed to rate your ability and credit worthiness. This number is used to justify a low or high interest rate on a loan, and a slight boost in your credit rating can often have a dramatic decrease in interest paid.

Here are a few things you can do to fix your credit:

1. If your credit is good enough (720++) apply for an unsecured line of credit. Use this to transfer credit card balances to pay off over time. Simple interest (Credit Line) vs Compound (Credit Card)
2. Be careful about closing inactive accounts. In general, if there is no fee, leave the accounts open – account closing dings your credit.
3. Do not pay off all credit card balances each month. You will get a higher credit score by paying it off in 3 months rather than all at once if you want to pay it off.
4. Make sure each credit card you have has no more than 50% of the available credit used.
5. Pay more than the min balance each month. A good rule of thumb is to at least pay 10% more than the min payment each month.

Either way, whether we think that number is right or wrong, you can only play within the rules that are setup. So its important for each person to know how to remove bad credit items. While some things are harder, most of it is quite easy to do. Be wary of so called "Credit Experts" that want you to pay a big fee for them to help you. Most of it you can really do yourself, once you learn the secrets of what needs to be done. In addition, there are tons of scammers out there that use this to steal information from you (worst case) OR simply really do next to nothing for the fees charged (more likely). Once you learn a few tricks, you will be better off for the rest of your life as you can always apply the knowledge to remove bad credit items.

If you notice something off on your credit report, make sure you address it right away. Simple things like a credit limit error or a balance error are easily corrected with a phone call or a letter by the credit bureaus. If you see an error on one of them, you will need to order one from each of the other 2 to make sure its not all the way on each of them. More serious issues such as open accounts that you did not authorize can indicate some type of fraud. You can call the credit companies and start an investigation if you think that this is true – and you should also call up the company in question and dispute the issue with them as well. If you see multiple items on your credit report, which appears to be identity theft, you should also contact the local law enforcement authorities.